Former Riders running back Kenton Keith says team faced racism at Regina – 3DownNation

Former Roughriders running back Kenton Keith believes his reaction to the racism he experienced during his game in Saskatchewan may be a factor in why he is not allowed to step down as a driver.

Keith, who last played for the franchise in 2006 and hasn’t had a professional contract since 2010, has long campaigned for the possibility of officially retiring as a member of the Roughriders. In an interview with 620 CKRM’s The Sportscage, the longtime ball carrier said he had held talks with former Riders teammate and current general manager Jeremy O’Day about the possibility, but was turned down because his time with the franchise was not long enough to think about.

“It kind of hurt me because Saskatchewan is where I started, it gave me a boost in my career and gave me a platform to showcase my talent,” confessed Keith. “Even before I met my wife and started my family up there, I just felt like I was a loyal guy. When it comes to my team, my coaches, my players, that’s really all I think about. So when I think about Saskatchewan and the times I was up there, I felt like I was part of a bigger situation.”

Asked if he thinks a lack of “maturity” during his tenure at Regina contributed to the club’s unwillingness to bend the rules for his retirement, Keith agreed – although he does agree with the perception of his conduct denied the Riders. He is often the subject of controversy and believes the public has never known the full story of incidents that he claims were not his fault.

“I could have spent a lot of time proving these situations to the fans and the people [weren’t indicative of me] but i did that in the [general manager’s] office,” Keith shared. “Every little incident that ever came up about me, I had to come into the office and talk about it because I had to prove that it wasn’t me or that something had been mishandled or something. But this situation never goes public.”

These include a high-profile altercation at a Regina nightclub in 2006, in which Keith was charged with assault after allegedly injuring a man in a brawl. The charges were later dropped after a provincial court judge felt the Crown’s case was not strong enough to go to trial, leaving Keith with no remorse.

“Even in this situation, if I had to do it all over again, I would do the exact same thing. People don’t understand that at that time – I’m just talking about that time and I don’t want that to be too much of a stretch – Roughriders were involved in a lot of different things,” he explained.

“There was a lot of racist slurs. We weren’t allowed to go to certain places because of who we were. There was a big community of bodybuilders out there that didn’t like us, that we all got involved with, and sometimes that wasn’t encouraged by us.”

He notices a marked difference in the way players are treated by Rider Nation today versus when he was playing, which contributed to the team’s bad reputation during that time. He suggested that simply participating in regular activities puts players at risk.

“We were just trying to go out and have fun and we were being called N-words and all sorts of other things. Some of us come from places where that’s going on and you have to defend yourself,” Keith said. “You’re still dealing with a whole bunch of little kids. I mean, yes, we play football, but at the same time we’re only 21. We’ve had a lot of mistakes to make in life anyway; Unfortunately, some of that had to happen up here.”

“But like I said, if I was put in the same situation as I was then, I would still do the same thing because people don’t understand that I had to defend someone. I had to help someone out of a situation where they probably could have been killed.”

Despite the difficult off-field situations, Keith went on to become one of the most exciting drivers in franchise history. In four seasons as the team’s top running back from 2003 to 2006, he carried the ball 610 times for 3,811 yards and 21 touchdowns while catching 126 passes for 1,175 yards and eight majors.

Keith was named a West Division All-Star in 2004 and 2006 and joined the NFL in 2007 with the Indianapolis Colts. He carried the ball 121 times as a stand-in for Pro Bowler Joseph Addai, rushing for 533 yards and three touchdowns while going through the air with 77 yards of reception and a score.

Keith ended his career with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, where he played one season before being fired through injury.

The now 42-year-old Keith has no regrets about his departure to the NFL and the brief success there. However, despite the ugly incidents he endured in Regina, he wishes he had stayed in Saskatchewan to help the team win the 2007 Gray Cup.

“The only thing I really didn’t win in my whole career was a championship. That being said, I probably would have stayed in Saskatchewan for another year, if not two, just to go through with the Saskatchewan plan,” he admitted.

“I feel like the recruitment that Danny Barrett and Roy Shivers did and the building that we built over the three or four years that I was there, when they got fired next year and I left, I have a feeling that’s how we’ve all felt going to be our Gray Cup year anyway.”

The opportunity to retire with the team would have been a welcome consolation prize, but not one that seems to be coming anytime soon. In the end, he finds the club’s refusal incredibly disappointing.

“I gave Saskatchewan everything I had. I gave my heart I was playing with my heart, blood on my shoulders — everything,” Keith said. “I gave everything I had in every game and I just wanted that back.”