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Just days after announcing that the San Francisco Rush were no more, PRO Rugby CEO Doug Schoninger has made the extraordinary decision to inform all players league-wide that he is terminating their contracts effective 30 days from now. In a letter published addressed to the players published by Pat Clifton of Rugby Today, Schoninger explains that an ongoing dispute with USA Rugby has not been resolved to his satisfaction and that unless common ground is negotiated between the two parties within those 30 days the league will not continue to operate in 2017.
Schoninger met with USAR CEO Dan Payne in New York on Friday and while the particulars of the meeting have not yet been disclosed, it is understood that USAR was not entirely pleased with a number of operational matters in 2016, not least the delayed payment of some players and facilities. USAR also did not approve of a proposed move by Schoninger to acquire controlling interest in the Southern Kings, a South African provincial side, in an attempt to add them to PRO Rugby in 2017.
PRO’s problems seemed to take a nose-dive with the announcement that well-regarded Director of Rugby Stephen Lewis had abruptly left the organization in October, with no replacement named to this day. One month later momentum was further derailed when a deal to add two Canadian sides was revealed to be dead. A strange sequence of social media statements immediately followed admitting that venues for additional franchises had not yet been identified, and even asking for help from fans to overcome the major logistical obstacle. The cancellation of San Francisco’s franchise had alarm bells ringing from coast to coast and fears of an imminent collapse have now been realized.
It seems unlikely that USAR will change their stance merely to negate Schoninger’s termination clause, and unless a last-minute deal is struck it appears the first professional rugby league in America is dead after only one season. With rumors of off-field problems persisting since the end of its inaugural season, the news will not come as a great shock to those closely following the story. It is, nonetheless, a great disappointment to more than 170 players who took part in 2016 and the thousands who attended or watched online broadcasts. It remains to be seen who will pick up the pieces for a nation – and region – with an ever-growing desire to support local professional rugby.
