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Tom Wright (CFL)

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Sports Executive

The Resume

    (1953- )
    Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    President of Adidas Canada prior to 2002
    Commissioner of the Canadian Football League (2002-07)
    Director of operations for UFC Canada (2010-16)

Why he might be annoying:

    He shares his name with the American actor.
    He had a contentious relationship with the CFL's Board of Governors.
    He presided over all three Ontario based franchises become ward of the league during his tenure.
    While he was quick to find new ownership for both the Hamilton Tiger-Cats and the Toronto Argonauts, he did nothing to help the Ottawa Renegades in contrast.
    Rather then take control of the Renegades, he allowed Bernard & Lonie Glieberman to re-enter the league's ownership ranks by purchasing the team (he obviously had no idea they drove both the Ottawa Rough Riders and Shreveport Pirates franchises into the ground).
    The demise of the Renegades proved to be the final straw as his contract wasn't renewed shortly afterwards.
    He was among the first wave of casualties following the ownership transfer at the UFC.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He worked in high ranking positions for both Adidas and Salomon Group, prior to entering the sporting commissioner ranks.
    He was hired by the CFL largely on the strength of his business background.
    He was able to secure stable ownership in both Toronto and Hamilton during his tenure as commissioner.
    He used his own personal money to pay for the Edmonton Eskimos workout apparel, when the team had an unexpected stay in Toronto due to their game being postponed by two days due to the Northeast Blackout (2003).
    He presided over the Montreal Alouettes first Grey Cup championship in 25 years (2002) and the Edmonton Eskimos two championships in a three year span (2003, 2005).
    He was credited with allowing the UFC to be legalized in Canada, along with lifting a cage ban in Australia.

Credit: Ricky


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying