CFL Star and Brother of Ryan Reaves Comes to His Defence After Darnell Nurse's Harsh Comments
Toronto's Ryan Reaves isn't the only tough Reaves in the family, and his brother Jordan has called out Darnell Nurse after Ryan's suspension.
Although perhaps not as well known as his brother Ryan or father Willard, Jordan Reaves has carved out a great career in professional football. Equally as tough, he made his name as a strong special teams defender and is currently a free agent.
So in his free time, he's been watching his older brother and the Maple Leafs get out to a hot start this season as the team sits first in the Atlantic Division, with no signs of slowing down no matter what gets thrown in their way.
So Jordan must have been extra peeved when his brother was not only ejected for his hit on Darnell Nurse but got slapped with a five-game suspension. It didn't take long for him to give his take on the matter.
Taking umbrage with Nurse's comments that Reaves was malicious and was looking to inflict some type of damage, Jordan correctly pointed out that if Nurse was looking down, how could he see Reaves's intent?
Maybe Reaves gets shoved into Nurse or tries to take a different angle and can't stop in time as Nurse tucks his head. How would Nurse know?
That's the mindset of Reaves and it's understandable why.
The NHL has had a very big problem recently with these types of hits, and Toronto was on the receiving end when Matthew Knies got rocked.
But so many players are playing with their heads down and it's costing them. There is also an onus on players to not exploit those with their heads down, and your goal isn't to hurt people but to make a statement.
It's been so bad, the NHL recently released a video explanation of why Reaves and Tanner Jeannot were both suspended, and there was already a reason why Knies' hit got a non-call.
While some may argue that Reaves has no business speaking out about this because he's not a player or in the game; it's still his family.
Those critics would be somewhat correct though, and Jordan Reaves needs to understand that his brother has had previous fines and suspensions for these types of incidents.
Suspended a total of 11 combined games through three suspensions and has forfeited over $50,000 of his salary due to those suspensions and various fines.
It is unknown if Nurse is going to fire back at Jordan Reaves or not, and would more than likely rather put this whole ordeal to rest.
But as long as Ryan Reaves is still enforcing his brand of hockey, his brother is always going to support him no matter the circumstances.
