Riders' Charleston Hughes to play Saturday despite recent DUI arrest
CFL sack leader played in loss to Winnipeg 2 days after Oct. 11
CFL sack leader Charleston Hughes will play Saturday when the Saskatchewan Roughriders visit the Calgary Stampeders.
Head coach/GM Chris Jones told reporters in Regina on Thursday that Hughes, who has a CFL-best 15 sacks this season, will suit up against his former team. Earlier this week, news surfaced that Hughes had been arrested and charged Oct. 11 with impaired driving and failing to provide a breath sample for analysis.
"We're still gathering information concerning the event that happened," Jones said. "Whether we get it from the league or we get it from the people here in town we've got to gather all the information before we start deciding what to do."
On Wednesday, Jones said he'd received details the day before concerning the incident. Jones added he discussed the matter with Hughes and would continue to do so.
Jones said the CFL doesn't have a code of conduct so the Riders would handle the matter internally.
"As an organization and me personally, it's an unfortunate event," Jones said. "It's something we take very seriously and Charleston knows the situation and the magnitude of it."
Hughes, 34, met with reporters Wednesday following the Riders' closed practice and apologized publicly to his teammates, club officials and fans.
The six-foot-one, 246-pound Hughes, twice a Grey Cup champion, played his first 10 CFL seasons with Calgary before being traded in February to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Ticat then flipped the four-time league all-star to the Riders and he's started every game this season for Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan (10-6) is currently second in the West Division, four points behind front-running Calgary (12-3). Both teams have secured playoff berths but are coming off losses.