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Go Directly to Blue Jays Jail? Toronto Club Warns Players of Massive Potential Penalties

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According to Scott Mitchell of Canada’s TSN, the Toronto Blue Jays have informed their players that being seen outside of approved team facilities, such as the Rogers Centre ballpark and their adjoining hotel, will incur a fine of a staggering $750,000 and potentially even jail time.

A number of media outlets are taking advantage of the scant details in the initial report to tell this story as though the Blue Jays are actually the ones imposing the gigantic fine and, somehow, jailing players. I’m no expert on Canadian law, but I’m reasonably sure the Blue Jays don’t have the authority to imprison people.

The notice from the team hasn’t been published, but what they are referring to is Canada’s emergency Quarantine Act, which was passed in March and renewed most recently at the end of June. You can read the announcement of the order on that link, the crux of the law is an “Emergency Order under the Quarantine Act that requires any person entering Canada by air, sea or land to self-isolate for 14 days whether or not they have symptoms of COVID-19.”

The potential penalties are laid out in the text of the announcement, specifically citing that “Failure to comply with this Order is an offense under the Quarantine Act. Maximum penalties include a fine of up to $750,000 and/or imprisonment for six months.” Players have been informed that, no matter the circumstance, they will be fined the maximum amount if they violate the rules. So if, say, Vlad Jr. decides he wants to sneak out for a post-practice cheeseburger and someone spots him, it’ll be the most expensive burger of all time, and the government might send him to the clink for six months.

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The law has even more teeth. The March announcement continues “Further, a person who causes a risk of imminent death or serious bodily harm to another person while willfully or recklessly contravening this Act or the regulations could be liable for a fine of up to $1,000,000 or to imprisonment of up to three years, or to both. Spot checks will be conducted by the Government of Canada to verify compliance.”

Call that the Canadian Karen law. While these steps may seem harsh, this is actually what a strong smart science-believing government does and likely a big part of the reason Canada has fared so much better with COVID-19 than their southern neighbors. It will be interesting to see what happens with the Blue Jays going into the regular season.

The team currently only has approval to practice, and the Canadian border is still shut to non-essential travel from the United States. The government will need to give the Blue Jays and MLB significant exemptions to allow the team to play in Toronto during the planned 60-game season, the logistics of a 14-day quarantine for visiting teams render any other answer implausible.

The logistics of an MLB season are still very much up in the air. As the spread of COVID-19 increases across the United States and new information about lingering side effects including brain damage begin to emerge, players are carefully weighing their options. On Friday, star Giants catcher Buster Posey became the most recent major name to announce that he would be opting out of the season.

The internet reacted like the internet reacts to these things, but The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly nails it.

Every one of these situations has unique circumstances, in Posey’s case the adoption of premature infants. It’s simply not remotely worth the risk. More players like Posey, and teams like the Blue Jays, are going to face mounting pressure and many more difficult decisions as the season draws closer. Three weeks out, things look anything but sure, safe or stable.

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