Zurkowsky: Alouettes fumble as president Mark Weightman exits under shroud of secrecy

Article content

There are many questions, but few answers, about the sudden departure of Mark Weightman, the Alouettes’ president and chief executive officer.

The Als issued a release late Wednesday afternoon stating that Weightman was “stepping down” from his position, effective Friday, and wouldn’t be replaced. Since Weightman isn’t talking — probably because of a non-disclosure agreement— the perception will remain that he jumped before being pushed.

This clearly is a divorce between the organization and the 52-year-old Beaconsfield resident.

Weightman has spent most of his adult life working in professional sports, but held the Als near to his heart. He joined the organization in 1996 — after it transferred to Montreal from Baltimore — holding numerous positions while learning the business side of the CFL before being appointed chief operations officer in 2012. He was named president the following year and remained in that position until 2016.

Weightman returned as president in 2023, shortly after new owner Pierre Karl Péladeau took control of the Als from the CFL and, by all accounts, was handling his responsibilities effectively.

A president of a pro sports team can be many things — although the majority remain in the background — and the Als have gone through their share.

Nobody will ever replicate the bombastic Larry Smith — part used-car salesman, part circus carny — who became renowned for performing push-ups at news conferences. Ray Lalonde was a tire fire who alienated his staff, while we’re not sure about Patrick Boivin, although he never measured up to his father, Pierre, the former Canadiens president.

Both Mario Cecchini and Weightman were present in the community, whether at practices, tailgate gatherings before games or mingling with spectators in the stands. And with five of their 10 games last season at 23,035-seat Molson Stadium sold out, Weightman appeared well in control of the situation; perhaps even close to getting Péladeau a nominal return on his investment.

The Als held a media gathering Thursday morning at Olympic Stadium and, as usual, mishandled the situation, making only general manager Danny Maciocia available. Maciocia, who has become the face of the franchise, looked like a deer caught in the headlights; the messenger dispatched to answer questions for which he had few answers at a time when he should be concentrating on the April 29 CFL draft.

René Masson, the Als’ director of finance, wasn’t made available. Masson, an accountant, becomes senior vice-president, COO and chief financial officer. And he’s in the hot seat, because his responsibilities include growing the team’s revenues and returning it to profitability.

André Brosseau wasn’t available, either. Brosseau is Péladeau’s representative and manages the owner’s vast business empire, although it’s not known what his level of CFL knowledge, and its business, encompasses. It wouldn’t be a stretch to speculate Brosseau, who will chair the Als’ executive committee and clearly has Péladeau’s ear, butted heads with Weightman, who lost a power struggle. At the same time, Péladeau sheds Weightman’s salary.

Annick Bélanger, Péladeau’s assistant, was on site Thursday, but wasn’t answering questions for her boss who also wasn’t present.

Maciocia, who adds the title of senior vice-president (football operations) to his portfolio, said he received a call Tuesday from Brosseau and clearly was surprised.

“I was told there’s going to be this new business model in place,” he said. “I wasn’t privy to anything else. I wasn’t in those meetings. I wasn’t consulted. This is what was delivered to me. I’m just rolling with it.”

Maciocia will also be responsible for dealing with league matters, opposing teams along with football operations, activities and policies. No financial constraints are in place and Maciocia can spend to the league’s increased $6,062,365 salary cap, up from $5.65 million, although he said the Als had the lowest player payroll in 2023, when they won the Grey Cup, and might have duplicated that last season, when they had the CFL’s best record (12-5-1).

“It has been made crystal clear to me I still, at the end, am a football guy. And I want to handle football,” he said. “I can do anything we need to do in order to win football games. If it needs to be tweaked or altered, we’ll do so. But I’ve not been told that I can’t spend to the cap.”

Weightman’s departure might go unnoticed by many. And as long as the Als continue winning games, attendance shouldn’t be an issue. But what will become of this franchise should the product begin to deteriorate? And who will stop the bleeding?