Heartbreak: BC Lions greatest player of all time has finally announce his leaving due comeback of…
VANCOUVER — The first hint came from the clamor inside the B.C. Lions’ locker room following a pointless exhibition victory.
The reason for the commotion was evident by the time the media was granted in.
One of the team’s mainstays for the past nine years and the CFL’s all-time leader in special teams tackles, Jason Arakgi, had just surprised his teammates by announcing his retirement to pursue a career outside of football with an impassioned statement.
In Friday’s 42-10 rout of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the 32-year-old donned his final uniform, capping a career characterized by a lot of effort and little acknowledgment.
“Like I said to the guys, I gave everything inside to football and my teammates,” Arakgi replied. “I “Although my football skills may not have been the best, I have one of the largest hearts. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for the men in the locker room because I genuinely adore them.
“I just hope they remember that about me.”
They will also never forget a player who led the punt, kickoff, and field goal units without hesitation and who always brought his work boots.
Arakgi retired with 194 career special teams tackles, shattering the mark set in August of last year. He also added 26 more as a reserve linebacker on spot duty in defense.
The actual value of the Montreal native was found in the locker room he left behind on Friday.
“It’s evident how emotionally invested the Guys have to, Jason “Said Arakgi’s roommate at training camp, B.C. linebacker Solomon Elimimian. Jason is a really lively and honest person who is always available for conversation. It is going to cause pain.
Thanks in part to Arakgi’s support, Elimimian, who was named the league’s most outstanding player in 2014, recovered from his Achilles tendon tear the following season to earn the CFL’s best defensive award for a second time.
“He’s someone who helped me get through different things in my career, and someone I’m going to miss tremendously,” Elimimian added. “In the end, he is working for his family. We know why.
“The career he’s had, he deserves something great.”
Arakgi, a 2008 third-round selection out of Hamilton’s McMaster University, will be.
The possibility to work for a company that sells medical equipment presented itself very fast.
He joked that retiring now wasn’t the initial idea, especially coming off of his tenth professional training camp, after receiving innumerable hugs from teammates.
“Generally not the best circumstances,” remarked Arakgi, whose dad Nick was a CFL player. “Being able to give the Lions as much notice as possible was more important to me.
“I didn’t want to leave them hanging.”
Arakgi, who won the Grey Cup in 2011, never had a serious injury throughout his career and leaves a demanding sport that can be violent on his own terms.
It isn’t any simpler because of that.
“It was heartbreaking to say goodbye to “I’m saying goodbye to football and these guys,” he remarked. It’s something that has greatly benefited me throughout my life.
