Hamilton's Bo Levi Mitchell defends controversial CFL changes: 'This is about modernizing the game'

A day after Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke blasted the CFL's changes as "garbage," veteran passer Bo Levi Mitchell backed the moves as a way to push the game forward.

"This is not about Americanizing the game, this is about modernizing the game," Mitchell, a 12-year veteran and twice the league's outstanding player, told reporters in Hamilton on Tuesday.

"What can we do to put a better product on the field, a product that people want to watch, that's a faster pace? This is not taking away the unique things (about the CFL)."

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback's comments were in response to a series of sweeping changes unveiled Monday by CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston, including a shorter field in 2027 and next year doing away with singles being awarded for missed field goals that sail out of the end zone.

The moves sparked strong reactions — both for and against — from fans and players across the country.

Rourke, a star player for the B.C. Lions who spent two seasons in the NFL, was loudest, calling the shift a step toward NFL rules and lamenting that players weren't consulted.

"What we're moving toward is not the Canadian football game that I grew up loving, that I'm passionate about, that I came back and played," said Rourke in one of several critical comments. "I went down and played in the NFL and I came back knowing that this is a game for me because of the uniqueness of it, what's special about it, and we're getting away from that.

"Frankly, makes me pretty pissed off."

Johnston's changes, which he said were unanimously approved by the CFL's Board of Governors, will roll out in a two-year plan.

Next season, the league will introduce a modified rouge disallowing teams from scoring a single off a missed field