At 4:00 pm on May 19th, BELC President Glenn McClelland received a communication from MSL Commissioner Doug Luey stating a response was needed by noon the following day. This communication proposed that Brampton be left out of the 2022 MSL season and be admitted in 2023 as a seventh team with all the details to be decided later by the MSL General Managers. Not only did we find this proposal and its restrictive time unacceptable, but once again, it ignored the final decisions of the OLA. It is clear this is essentially a proposal to add Brampton as an expansion team, giving up everything we have fought for, and defying everything the OLA Board of Directors have repeatedly ruled on. Had the MSL leadership not failed to acknowledge multiple attempts at communication from the BELC and the OLA Board of Directors ruling since August 2021, these issues could have been resolved months ago. If including Brampton in the 2022 season is going to cause difficulties with scheduling and TV contracts, the fault of that rests squarely on the league’s leadership and the choices they have made.
At the 2021 BELC AGM, our membership gave the newly elected Board of Directors a very clear directive – to make sure the Brampton Major Excelsiors play this season. We have no intention of backing away from that mission. Our Board has always been dedicated to finding a reasonable solution. Whatever that resolution may be, it will include the Brampton Excelsiors playing in the 2022 OLA sanctioned Sr. A season.