The Saskatchewan Roughriders’ decision to kick receiver Ajou Ajou off the team last week sets a positive example, says Jill Arnott, a women’s and gender studies professor at the University of Regina.

"This is how it starts. And so we need to hold up those models and those examples of change where we can, because that is how the change happens,” Arnott said in an interview with CBC.

“We’re talking about changing a culture that has allowed this and encouraged this kind of behavior and these attitudes for so long.”

An outside investigation concluded Ajou violated the CFL’s gender-based violence and harassment policy. He has been suspended by the CFL for the entire pre-season and at least six regular season games.

The league said he was aggressive and engaged in what it calls “unwelcome contact with women” at a Regina restaurant on the day of the Grey Cup parade in Regina in November 2025.