Photo: Michael Scraper/3DownNation. All rights reserved.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are working to reconcile the loss of team captain Jayden Dalke, who was one of two people killed in a car crash near Lumsden, Sask., on Saturday evening.
Franchise quarterback Trevor Harris arrived at the team’s facility shortly after 6:00 a.m. local time on Sunday. He quickly realized something was wrong because head coach Corey Mace was tied up on the phone and wouldn’t look him in the face.
The team’s captains were called in for a meeting at 7:45 a.m., when they were told the shocking news.
“I was just praying, honestly, that somebody had gotten in trouble because it’s the lesser of two evils,” Harris told the media on Monday. “We talk family a lot here, and we mean that. Jayden’s a family member, and so when that happens, it’s heavy, it’s hard.”
According to Mace, the rest of the team was informed at a separate meeting around 30 minutes later. Practice was then cancelled for the day, though several players later attended a barbecue at Logan Ferland’s house in order to remain in contact and provide support for one another.
The players returned to Mosaic Stadium for practice on Monday, where photos of Dalke were on display.
“Something like this happens, most people need some time. We don’t really get that luxury, so you try to find a little bit of normalcy in what we do while also staring in the face of the inevitable with just how we carry ourselves and how we move forward I think is kind of the sweet spot for us,” said Mace.
“It’s not an easy thing. There’s a game to be played; it’s a big one. We spoke about anyone who knows Jayden Dalke how he would probably approach the situation.”
General manager Jeremy O’Day indicated that the team has a mental health consultant who typically comes to the stadium once per week, though they will attend more frequently following Dalke’s death. The CFL Players’ Association also has resources available to its membership, which the team has encouraged players to utilize.
However, with a game against the first-place Edmonton Elks scheduled for Thursday night, the team doesn’t have much time to grieve.
Football waits for no one.
“We’ve got work to do. At the end of the day, I know (Dalke) would want us to be here. He wouldn’t want us walking around, moping around, and stuff like that,” said linebacker Jameer Thurman.
“I know he’s always watching over us, making sure that we are being held accountable for each other. Out here today, it was tough having his picture up there on the screen all day. It was tough for me, but there was a reason why, and just having him here with us made us push through the day and get to what we need to get to.”
“It was pretty difficult (to practice on Monday), especially when you walk out, and we had the tribute up there,” said linebacker Nick Wiebe.
“There was a few guys who needed a minute before practice. I was talking to a couple of the guys; I think a lot of us feel him the most out here, too, because this is where he loved to be the most. It’s just walking out here and not seeing him smiling and making the punt calls and stuff like that. It was a tough day, for sure.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Lumsden Fire Department (LFD) released details regarding the crash on Monday.
According to law enforcement, Dalke was driving the wrong way on the highway and had alcohol and cannabis in his vehicle. The RCMP also indicated they received a report that Dalke’s vehicle left a Lumsden business without paying for fuel. They did not receive reports of erratic driving.
Following the collision, Dalke was pulled from his vehicle by bystanders, who administered CPR. LFD members took over CPR from the bystanders following their arrival, though the 30-year-old was eventually pronounced dead at the scene.
The other driver, 22-year-old Bhishma Rajyaguru of Regina, was entrapped in his vehicle and also pronounced dead at the scene.
The RCMP indicated that autopsies and toxicology will be conducted as part of what they termed an ongoing investigation. The timeline for this testing remains unclear.
An accident reconstruction will also be performed, though the RCMP indicated this will take months to complete.
“We still don’t have a lot of information — that’s new information that we just received when (the public) received it as well, so it’s just an unfortunate tragedy, and we’re really sorry for both victims,” said team president and CEO Craig Reynolds on Monday.
“It doesn’t change anything. We lost a member of our organization, a beloved teammate, somebody that meant a lot to us here in our organization. It’s been a tough 24 hours for our team, and this doesn’t change anything. It’s just a really unfortunate tragedy.”
Reynolds indicated that he’s not aware of any off-field issues Dalke may have been experiencing.
“I understand there’s an investigation going on, so there’s not going to be any assumptions at this point,” said Mace. “The main thing, my thoughts are just on Dalke’s family, our guys, and obviously there’s another family involved as well. Lots of waves of emotion for a lot of people. It’s just sad.”
Wiebe said he’s aware of some of the details police have released regarding the accident, though he hasn’t looked into it for fear of what he’d learn.
Despite the details, the Roughriders remain deeply appreciative of the support they’ve received from across the Canadian Football League.
“I want to thank everyone that’s reached out to give their condolences to Jayden’s family. It’s certainly appreciated, and it’s humbling to be involved with such a great league,” said O’Day.
“It’s kind of overwhelming what the community and the CFL is all about. Teams that you don’t get along with, how they reach out in a time like this is quite humbling.”
“It’s really appreciated,” said Reynolds. “The outpouring from the CFL community, as well. I thought what Ottawa did last night was extremely classy and meant a lot to us as an organization. I know TSN, as well, did a really nice tribute to Jayden, and it means a lot to us, it really does.”
The Roughriders will pay tribute to Dalke before Thursday’s game against the Edmonton Elks and wear his initials on their helmets. O’Day indicated there are other initiatives planned, though those will be announced at a later date.
“We’re gonna do everything we can to honour Jayden,” said Harris. “I know if he could come back and say something to us, he’d be like, ‘Why did you guys cancel practice yesterday?’ I know he would have been upset at us, but it was the right thing to do. We’re surely gonna miss him, that’s for sure.”
Several members of the team spoke to Dalke on the phone during his drive back to Regina on Saturday evening, one of whom was Wiebe.
“He was so excited to get back. He missed all of us during the bye week, and just wanted to see all his boys again. He was excited to see everybody, but I think that’s the toughest part is talking to him that close in proximity to obviously what all happened,” said Wiebe.
“I think the one thing that I’ll always be able to look back on and kind of smile is we said we love each other when we signed off the phone, so the last thing I ever said to him was that I loved him, so I think that’s something I’ll always be able to take solace in at least.”
