Up Close: Meet Roughriders defensive tackle Micah Johnson
'Then I believe it was after I got cut from the Packers the next year, my agent was like, 'Hey, man, this team in Canada has your rights, you want to go? I was like, 'Nah.'
Article content
'But then for the next couple years, I wasn't doing nothing but getting cut. I had my first son, so I was ready to start making some money.'
Article content
Article content
'Hell no, bro. I didn't think so. Especially (since) my first year, I tore my ACL in my first year in the CFL. I tore it again the second year.
Article content
'My first three years in the CFL, people don't understand it was pretty much a wash. And I know you see the career numbers (now), but them first three years, like I was coming off of double ACLs and meniscus and stuff, so my first full season, I'll be telling everybody was 2016.'
Article content
Article content
'Scoring a touchdown at running back in the bowl game (for the University of Kentucky). We were playing against Clemson, and they put me in at running back, and I scored.'
Article content
Article content
Article content
'Probably producing music. I've always liked making music, making beats. I sold a lot of beats … I lived in Atlanta for two or three years, and just selling beats, making beats.
Article content
'This was my first few years in the CFL. So, this was like 2012-15. My first few years, that's really when I wasn't getting paid that much, that's how I was making my most of my money selling beats in the off-season.
Article content
'It's become more of a hobby for me (now) though, but I always say I got to get back into it, even if it's not just the production of music. I enjoy sound engineering, master and mixing and stuff like that. So I've always wanted to kind of do something in that field.
Article content
'I bought a studio when I was in college … I've always enjoyed recording people. I had people all over the city coming to record. It was actual studio equipment, Pro Tools (music software), like all that stuff. And it was self-taught.'
Article content
Article content
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
27 minutes ago
- CBC
Ottawa's National Arts Centre cuts ties with controversial Chinese dance group
The National Arts Centre in Ottawa will not be hosting a controversial Chinese performance group next year, following internal deliberations about potential blowback the Crown corporation could face over allegations regarding Shen Yun's treatment of audience members with disabilities and a breach of previous contract terms, CBC News has learned. Emails released in an access to information request show the NAC was considering the move for months — during which time the centre heard from at least two MPs wondering about whether there would be a Shen Yun show in 2026. Based in New York, Shen Yun is closely affiliated with the Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa), a spiritual movement banned in China and long at odds with the country's ruling communist regime. In an email dated Jan. 13, Heather Gibson, the executive producer for the NAC's popular music and variety programming, reached out to the centre's CEO Christopher Deacon, as well as to Annabelle Cloutier, an executive director in strategy and communications, to "recommend that we do not continue our relationship with Shen Yun in 2026 in light of continued issues with their organization respecting our contractual agreement, primarily with the box office." She also alluded to "allegations that continue to surface about the organization," without specifying details. That note followed reporting last year by The New York Times which alleged Shen Yun forced its troupe of young dancers through emotional abuse and long work hours while discouraging them from seeking treatment for injuries. The New York Times investigation also alleges Shen Yun raked in hundreds of millions of dollars over the last decade, including through unethical and potentially unlawful methods. In a reply to Gibson, Deacon said he saw Shen Yun's future with the NAC as a "programming decision" to be made at her discretion. "I appreciate and respect that, but it's not going to be (only) me who is dealing with the potential issues this may cause in media, phone-calling campaigns, meeting requests to your office, etc.," Gibson wrote in response. "In the past when we have moved forward with this, the CEO eventually overrode our decision. Which I also respect, but it has made it difficult to conceive of this as a programming decision alone." Deacon replied that he supports Gibson's decision. In February, Liberal MP Judy Sgro wrote to an NAC producer saying she had been contacted by the Falun Dafa Association of Canada and requested a "thorough explanation as to why [Shen Yun] would not be able to secure dates." A month later, Conservative MP Garnett Genuis wrote to Deacon over his "concern regarding the prolonged delay in the scheduling of Shen Yun's 2026 performance dates." Genuis noted the Falun Dafa community has had a nearly two-decade-long run with the NAC as a presenter of their show. "Recent efforts by the CCP [Communist Party of China] to transnationally repress and discredit the Shen Yun performances and undermine the efficacy of Falun Gong practitioners in their attempts to share the story of a pre-communist China in these rich performances are extremely concerning," he wrote. "The importance of preserving their artistic freedoms here in Canada is all the greater given the severe lack of protections that their group experiences in China." NAC staff complaints Shen Yun last performed at the NAC in late April. On April 28, Gibson asked colleagues in an email about whether Shen Yun should return in 2026. "I have received some unsettling information informally," she said. "Could someone please send through formal comments about the run of shows that we did with this client please?" A supervisor at the centre, Myriam Lamontagne, replied that she had worked on the troupe's 2024 shows. She said Shen Yun "installed their own box office booth" at the centre, which she said was a breach of contract. "When I told them that it was unacceptable and against the contract, and I asked them to close the box office booth, the situation escalated, they questioned my legitimacy and they treated me as if I had no say to what they were doing within the NAC," she wrote. She also said Shen Yun were "taking pictures of individual patrons during the shows, without their knowledge," and refused to stop when she asked them. Lamontagne also cited another colleague who worked on this year's shows. She said "a Shen Yun manager asked to remove and refund a patron with disabilities from Southam Hall, during the performance, as they were making sounds due to their disability." She said NAC staff told her they were uncomfortable working with the group. On April 30, in another email on the same chain, a senior manager at the NAC, Robyn Gilchrist, wrote about how she and others had discussed "specific instances" of "guests with disabilities" being asked to leave the hall during Shen Yun's last visit. "These actions expose us to potential human rights complaints," she wrote. "If any of these guests decide to file an official complaint, we would be unable to defend our position. This could result in front-page news and create a lasting public record that portrays the NAC as unkind to individuals with disabilities." A local Shen Yun organizer told CBC News that these incidents amounted to a misunderstanding. Local organizer 'mystified' In a statement, the National Arts Centre confirmed to CBC News that Shen Yun "has no dates booked for performances at the NAC in 2026." It added "venue and rental contracts remain confidential." The NAC also confirmed the content of the emails reviewed by CBC News, but added "the availability of our halls for rentals depends on our own artistic programming which we prioritize over rentals." A local organizer for the Shen Yun show says she was "mystified" by the NAC's decision. Grace Wollensak, a national co-ordinator for the Falun Dafa Association of Canada, said the NAC sent the group their decision in writing on June 28, but did not mention any specific reason. She said the centre's CEO told them last week that it was due to rental availability. "We had a pretty great, friendly meeting," Wollensak said. "He even suggested we continue with a follow-up meeting." She said it was the NAC who had removed some patrons with disabilities. Wollensak said she had told the centre it was on heightened awareness for potential disruptions from agents of the Chinese government. She said there had been "dozens" of threats against recent Shen Yun performances. Wollensak said the NAC removed three attendees in wheelchairs for making disruptive noises, and she ensured they were refunded before they left. "We want to emphasize that we have no intention of excluding individuals with disabilities," Wollensak said. "In fact, for the past 18 years, wheelchair-accessible seating has been available for every Shen Yun performance." Wollensak also said that in 2024, the group stopped selling tickets at its information desk when it was asked to do so. Wollensak said Shen Yun had previously sold tickets at the NAC, and hadn't been told this was a breach of contract. "We like to comply and follow the rules," Wollensak said. "There's no reason not to do so." Human rights lawyer calls for reversal The association said the show not taking place next year would be a win for the Chinese government. Emails sent by the Chinese Embassy to the NAC over the last two years show diplomats seeking to invite NAC representatives to embassy events — including Deacon and Nelson McDougall, managing director of the orchestra, to a reception in September 2023. It is unclear if either of them attended. However, in July 2024, after receiving another invitation, Deacon told staff that he had received advice that he should meet the Chinese ambassador, and that McDougall "should join the meeting." A note on the Chinese Embassy's website in August 2024 said the ambassador paid a visit to Deacon. In its statement to CBC News, the NAC said its "artistic programming and venue rentals decisions are made independently and without external influence." Its decision comes after Montreal's Place des Arts also said it will not book any dates for Shen Yun next year. According to Shen Yun's website, the only Canadian city where it has performances scheduled in 2026 is Vancouver. One vocal critic of the NAC's decision, human rights lawyer David Matas, provided CBC News a copy of a letter he sent to the centre, urging it to reverse its move. "I ask that the NAC grant its stage to these performers, and not lend itself to become a paving stone in the campaign of transnational repression waged by the CCP regime," Matas, who represented groups that spoke out against Chinese state repression during the public inquiry into foreign interference, wrote. "This would be contrary to the Canadian values of human rights and diversity, as well as the mandate of your arts centre to present and showcase the best of cultures." Matas said The New York Times was making itself a vehicle of the Communist Party of China's transnational repression against Falun Gong, a charge also levied by the movement itself and Shen Yun since the release of the paper's stories last year.
CBC
27 minutes ago
- CBC
Watch live coverage of the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore
Click on the video player above to watch live coverage of Tuesday's finals session at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore. Multi-time Olympic medallists Kylie Masse and Taylor Ruck will look to achieve podium finishes in the women's 100-metre backstroke final at 7:48 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Masse, from LaSalle, Ont., who won silver in the event at the Tokyo Games in 2021, finished with the third-best overall qualifying time (58.66 seconds) in the semifinal. Ruck, from Kelowna, B.C., earned a berth in the final with the fifth-best qualifying time (59.18). Watch live coverage of every race at the swimming worlds on and CBC Gem, with finals beginning at 7 a.m. ET each day. The full competition schedule is available here. Afterward, Mary-Sophie Harvey will look to earn another medal opportunity in Singapore in the women's 200m freestyle semifinal at 8:09 a.m. ET. The Trois-Rivières, Que., native won bronze in the 200m individual medley on Monday, sharing the podium with winner Summer McIntosh. Then Ilya Kharun of Montreal will take to the pool for the men's 200m butterfly semifinal at 8:26 a.m. ET, looking to secure his first medal of these world championships. Kharun topped the podium in the same event during 2024 worlds in Budapest, also winning bronze in it at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Reporter Devin Heroux will be on site in Singapore speaking to Canadians following their races, and will join The Ready Room show live on YouTube every day after finals, with Brittany MacLean Campbell hosting from Toronto. The show will include Canadian highlights, athlete interviews and analysis. McIntosh, the superstar teen from Toronto, returns to the pool on Wednesday morning for the women's 200m butterfly semifinal. The 19-year-old continues her drive for five gold medals at these world championships having already won the 400m freestyle on Sunday and 200m IM on Monday. WATCH l CBC Sports' The Ready Room recaps Day 2 of swimming finals: McIntosh & Harvey go 1 & 3 in 200m IM, Masse & Ruck make 100m backstroke final | THE READY ROOM 17 hours ago On day two of the swimming world championships, Summer McIntosh collected her second gold medal in Singapore, and teammate Mary-Sophie Harvey joined her on the podium winning bronze. Brittany MacLean Campbell and Devin Heroux tell you everything you need to know from the pool in Singapore.
CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Canada's Alexis Galarneau claims his 1st ATP Tour win and it comes at National Bank Open
Alexis Galarneau of Laval, Que., defeated Arthur Rinderknech of France 7-6(2), 6-3 in the opening round of the National Bank Open Monday.
