Courtesy Vancouver Province:

You’d never know it from talking to Wally Buono but the B.C. Lions paid a considerable football price when they released Josh Boden Wednesday.

Boden, the North Van product, had worked his way into the Lions’ receiving corps last season and, in half a year, excited a lot of people in the organization.

He was tough. He had speed. At 20, with two years of junior eligibility left, he’d also caught 14 balls for 237 yards in limited reps and looked for all the world like an emerging star for the Leos.

“I believe the kid has talent,” Buono says.

But it’s a funny thing. As the Lions head coach and GM talks about Boden, he barely mentions the football aspect of the decision. Instead, he talks about the sense of betrayal; about the disappointment; about the loss of trust.

No, for Buono and the Lions organization, this went way beyond the white lines and what Boden could give them as a starting wideout.

For everyone who’d reached out to the young man, including new assistant coach Mark Washington and receiver Paris Jackson, this was personal. They understood that Boden hadn’t been dealt the best hand in his life but they also believed they were making a difference.

That’s why the news that he faces three criminal charges from a domestic incident on April 12 hit them all like a punch in the gut.

“My trust level is pretty much exhausted, and you can’t have a healthy relationship with anyone unless you can trust them,” says Buono.

Read More….