Saskatchewan Roughriders' head coach Corey Mace defended C.J. Reavis after he was fined by the CFL for his high hit on Winnipeg Blue Bombers' quarterback Zach Collaros in the Labour Day Classic rematch.
"I don't look at C.J. as a dirty player. I definitely know that it wasn't his intention, but at the end of it, you look at it and see if there was helmet contact. The rules are the rules, unfortunately, it ended the way that it did," Mace said. "Uber respect for Zach, I hope he's fine, honestly, because that is the most important thing at the end of it. The league has their ruling system, we have to respect all these players, their organizations and find ways to coach it up better. The guys have to find a way to do it better so that they don't rule it that way."
The Riders won the Labour Day Classic rematch against the Bombers 21-13. Reavis finished the game with three defensive tackles. Collaros missed Winnipeg's Week 15 game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with a head injury. Going forward, Mace believes it will still be a challenge to monitor such plays.
"You definitely want to protect the quarterbacks, really in any league, not even pertaining to this play, but moving forward. It is a physical game, things are really close and it's hard to make those decisions moving fast. It's not even truthfully as it pertains to a quarterback, it could be down the field as well, it is tough, but I think the main thing is the intent of it," Mace said.
"I believe in the past there have been some players who played with intent. Not the case, for the most part it's a brotherhood, whether you're on the same team or not you don't ever want to see anything happen to another player that's going to cost them a situation where they can provide for their family, play for their teammates, but it is a physical sport. I don't know where it's going to go from here and what it is now. I want to make sure that there's still football being played years from now and not a different variation of it."
Reavis responded to the fine on social media Thursday, detailing his frustration, according to 3DowNation.
"I got 350lb+ offensive lineman diving at my knees INTENTIONALLY after the play.. no flag or fine. But CFL wanna fine me a quarter of my game cheque because a QB got hurt," Revais pointed out on X. "Do y'all actually care about player safety or QB safety? This some bullshit & y'all know dat."
They care about player safety tho.. https://t.co/4yILn3sI1B
— CJ Reavis (@_reavisisland) September 11, 2025
Thar play in question Reavis pointed out happened when Winnipeg called a screen play to Brady Oliveira in the Labour Day Classic. Bombers' right guard Patrick Neufeld appeared to try and deliver a low block on Reavis. The 29-year-old strong-side linebacker has regrets about what he posted on social media.
"You can't tweet that. Obviously, that's against the rules," Reavis said. "I've got to be better, I got to hold my composure and vent to my family and my dad."
The league office tried to help Reavis alter his hitting area on quarterbacks in the future so he can try to avoid similar situations.
"They told me to keep my head out a little bit more, use my shoulder a little bit more, and lower my strike zone a little bit as well -- aim more of the chest area to stomach area," Reavis said.
Reavis was humbled to find out Rider Nation wanted to pay for his fine with a GoFundMe campaign.
"It means that at least they care and we all want to be cared about. I think that it's human nature to have empathy and sympathy for somebody," Reavis said. "I love the love, but I'm good, I don't need that."
The six-foot, 198-pound playmaker is in his fourth year with Saskatchewan. This season he has started 12 games for the Green and White, accumulating 48 defensive tackles, two sacks, one interception and one forced fumble.
Saskatchewan hosts the Montreal Alouettes at home on Saturday. Teagan Witko, Justin Dunk and Wes Cates bring you the pre-game show at 2 p.m. Dave Thomas and Luc Mullinder have the game call at 5 p.m. Listen or watch our detailed coverage on 620 CKRM Co-operators Rider Broadcast Network.
