Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly has been reinstated by the Canadian Football League, which Sunday said he was returning on a “last chance agreement.”
He was expected at Argonauts practice on Sunday.
The league suspended Kelly, the reigning CFL Most Outstanding Player, for a minimum of nine regular-season games on May 7 after an investigation into allegations he had violated “gender-based violence” rules.
During his suspension, Kelly, 30, was required to take part in psychological assessments and mandatory counseling sessions run by an “independent expert in the field of gender-based violence,” the league said.
CFL officials met with the psychologist and counselor, and Kelly also sat down with commissioner Randy Ambrosie before the reinstatement.
The ninth game of the suspension period was played Aug. 9.
For Kelly to retain his eligibility, he must continue to meet “a number of ongoing conditions” that the league declined to specify.
“I am sorry for my actions and the impact it has had on many people personally, the Toronto Argonauts and the CFL,” Kelly said in a statement released by the team. “I recognize that this is just one step in the process of bettering myself, but it is an important one, and I am committed to doing what is needed to be a better teammate, colleague and person.
“With that commitment in mind, I have accepted the League’s conditions of reinstatement, including its ‘Last Chance Agreement’.”
Allegations against Kelly came to light in February, when TSN reported that a former female strength and conditioning coach for the Argonauts sued the team for wrongful dismissal. In the lawsuit, filed in Ontario Superior Court in Toronto, the woman alleged that after Kelly pushed for a romantic relationship and she rejected his advances, the Argonauts retaliated by dismissing her from the team in January. She had worked for the team since 2018.
The nephew of former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly joined the Argonauts in 2022 and helped guide them to the Grey Cup title that season, subbing in for injured starting quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson in the championship game. He became the team’s starting QB in 2023.
The Argonauts are 5-4 on the current season and in third place in the CFL’s East Division. They will host the Saskatchewan Roughriders (5-4-1) on Thursday.
In Kelly’s absence, Cameron Dukes and Nick Arbuckle each have started at quarterback for the Argonauts, with Dukes 4-4 and the latter 1-0.
Kelly was 15-1 as Toronto’s starter last season, and he completed 68.5 percent of his throws for 4,123 yards, 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He added 248 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
–Field Level Media
