Former Toronto Argonauts coach gives details of Chad Kelly harassment in amended trial

A former Toronto Argonauts strength and conditioning coach has amended his wrongful-dismissal lawsuit against the Canadian Football League team and quarterback Chad Kelly, including specific allegations of misconduct by the league's highest-paid player and the most outstanding player he's ever coached.

“Chad is a superior athlete, won the 2023 CFL Player of the Year award and is a role model for Canadian football fans,” the coach's amended lawsuit said. “Given his high profile, Chad's behavior deserves a special reprimand from the court to send a message that women should be treated with respect and Canadian courts will not tolerate behavior similar to Chad's.”

The coach, who worked at Argos from 2018 to January 2024, filed the amended lawsuit on April 2 in Ontario Superior Court in Toronto, two months after his original complaint was filed. TSN does not publish the names of victims of violence or harassment without their permission.

He is seeking $50,000 from Kelly, 29, alleging violations of the Ontario Human Rights Code and $85,714 in wrongful termination claims against Argos and Kelly from joint employment. He is also seeking $10,000 in restitution.

The coach claims the Argos upheld Kelly's harassment and toxic work environment, and the team violated the CFL's policy on violence against women by failing to report a serious incident to league headquarters.

The allegations against Kelly and the Argos have not been tested in court, and neither Kelly nor the franchise has responded. The CFL also said it was investigating.

Kelly's agent, Chris Lambiris, said in a statement Wednesday: “This amendment is simply a procedural matter, and while we will not be covering the process through the media, we look forward to our statement of defense.”

Kelly's attorney, Nancy M. Shapiro added, “We do not believe the allegations against Mr. Kelly have any merit and are taking steps to defend this action.”

A representative for Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment declined to comment.

The former coach was hired by the Argos in May 2018 as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, making the team the first woman hired for the role. He was paid about $25,000 a year, plus benefits, and his duties included monitoring training, focusing on injury prevention, supporting rehabilitation and analyzing performance data.

Kelly, who has also appeared as a college football analyst on TSN, signed a three-year, $1.865 million contract with the Argos in August, making him the highest-paid player in the CFL.

A native of Buffalo, he is the nephew of former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly.

The coach alleges in the lawsuit that Kelly repeatedly sought to initiate romantic relationships throughout the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

The amended lawsuit included allegations of the so-called “Promissory Note Incident” detailing an alleged incident that occurred in October 2022. The former coach says Kelly told him and others they could get free tickets to Bills games.

In the lawsuit, the former coach says he told Kelly that if he went to a game, he would travel separately, bring a friend and go home immediately after the game.

“A few days before the NFL game, Chad convinced the group to get an Airbnb and stay the night after the game,” the lawsuit states. “After the coach told him several times that he was going to leave immediately after the game to go home, Chad tried to get (him) to stay.”

In the lawsuit, the coach advised Argos general manager Michael “Pinball” Clemons of the plan to go to the game and Clemons “thought it was a great networking event for (the coach) to go to the NFL Bills game.” says the lawsuit.

Coach Kelly was then told that Clemons had approved the trip.

“Chad visibly tensed, then said, 'Oh man, why are you telling Pinball?' You shouldn't have gone to Pinball. You shouldn't have done that. Why do you go to Pinball? “(The coach) tried to tell Chad that he had to protect his job and that getting permission from management was the only way to go to the game.”

Kelly then left and went to the fourth meeting room.

“A little while later, a teammate told (the coach) that Chad was yelling and calling him names in the meeting room. Chad then refused a free invitation to the Bills game and asked to pay $500 (US) for the tickets. (He) didn't go to the game and didn't pay the $500 (US).”

Coach Kelly says the harassment intensified in November 2023.

“Chad planned movie or dinner dates, but (the trainer) backed out,” the lawsuit states. “Chad once told them they needed 30 minutes, (a) comment that surprised him. (She) reminds Chad that they both have partners, that his advances are unacceptable and unprofessional, and that he is not interested.”

In the lawsuit, the Argonauts member told the coach that on Nov. 5, 2023, while riding on the team bus, Kelly publicly accused him of having a romantic relationship with another team member.

According to the coach, he met with Kelly personally on November 6, 2023.

“Instead of addressing the concern, Chad responded with aggression, yelling, cursing and waving at her,” the lawsuit states, asking Kelly not to contact her unless it was work-related.

An hour after the conversation, the coach was having breakfast with a group of at least eight people, including his leader, Osama Mujtaba, the court heard, and when Kelly saw him, he yelled insults at her in the room and told her he couldn't reach her. Wait until he is fired.

The coach wrote in his statement that he informed Mujtaba and Argos assistant general manager John Murphy about the incident.

“Murphy responded that (he) shouldn't have talked to Kelly and that he had now 'opened up a can of worms that didn't need to be opened,'” the lawsuit said.

She said that when she was supposed to lead a team yoga class that afternoon, she was told that because Kelly was in it, someone else would take it. After she went to the weight room, Mujtaba approached her and told her to go home if Kelly didn't show up, the lawsuit alleges.

“On Nov. 10, 2023, (the trainer) learned that Chad had made a threatening remark to him that he was lucky he had not been physically harmed,” the lawsuit states.

“Despite his supervisor witnessing parts of the incident and reporting (the coach) continued harassment, the Argonauts took no action to address the situation, leaving him in a sad and unsupported position on the team.”

The coach said that he was informed on January 29 that the contract would not be renewed.