Courtesy TSN:

B.C. Lions offensive right tackle Jason Jimenez says he is appealing his one-game suspension because it’s his right, not just so he can play in Sunday’s CFL West final and possibly the Grey Cup.

“I am not considering playing time,” Jimenez said Tuesday after the Lions worked out at their practice facility. “The appeal to me is something that is just the next process.

“I am exercising my right under the collective bargaining agreement.”

Jimenez was disciplined Monday for his block on Calgary Stampeders defensive lineman Anthony Gargiulo in the final game of the regular season. Gargiulo suffered a broken leg plus torn ligaments and tendons on the play and needed surgery to implant a plate in his leg.

Had he accepted the suspension, Jimenez would have missed Sunday’s game against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Jimenez wouldn’t say on what grounds he will appeal.

“I can’t talk about anything that is going to happen at the appeal process,” he told reporters. “I’ve been asked not to and I feel it’s right to be discreet in this matter.”

The six-foot-seven, 319-pound Queens, N.Y., native said he has “no clue” how long the appeal process will take. He also declined to comment on whether he has talked to Gargiulo.

The Jimenez camp can now ask CFL commissioner Mark Cohon and the arbitrator to stay the suspension until his case is heard.

If either Cohon, who would probably reject the request, or the arbitrator agrees, the hearing wouldn’t likely take place until the off-season. That would allow Jimenez to play against the Roughriders and in the Grey Cup should the Lions get that far.

Jimenez, 27, said he discussed his decision with Wally Buono, the Lions coach and general manager.

“He asked me to take into consideration what is best for me and what I feel I should do,” Jimenez said. “Clearly, I’ve taken into account what the team’s best interest is.

“He expressed to me I need to do what is best for me.”

Buono said he wasn’t surprised by Jimenez’s decision.

“We have talked,” said Buono. “He feels different to what the decision (suspension) is. Under the collective agreement he has the right to do that and he’s going to do that.”

Immediately after the Calgary game Lions quarterback Dave Dickenson expressed frustration over the Jimenez hit.

“We don’t want that,” he said at the time. “That situation didn’t need to occur.”

Dickenson was supporting his teammate Tuesday.

“I think he has a case,” said Dickenson, who missed most of the season with post-concussion syndrome. “We’re going to support him.

“He’s got to take care of that and make sure it’s not a distraction to our team. We know he has to take care of business and we’ll move from there.”

The precedent for appeal was set earlier this year. Edmonton Eskimo linebacker A. J. Gass was given a one-game suspension for throwing the helmet of Calgary lineman John Comiskey in an Aug. 4 game.

Gass appealed and an arbitration hearing overturned the suspension but the process took several weeks.

Jimenez is the second Lion to face suspension this year. Offensive lineman Sherko Haji-Rasouli was suspended for one game following a melee in Regina in an Sept. 22 game. He decided to serve his penalty without appealing.

Both Jimenez and fellow B.C. lineman Rob Murphy have faced allegations all year they are dirty players.

“People have their opinion on any number of issues, including this one,” Jimenez said. “I can’t comment further on that.”

The second-year tackle, whose wife is expecting a baby, doesn’t want the appeal to distract the team as it prepares for the Riders.

“I am planning on helping my team as much as I can,” he said. “The team still has a goal to reach and I’m going to try and be as productive as possible.”

Buono doubted the Lions would be affected by Jimenez’s decision.

“I don’t know why it’s a distraction,” he shrugged. “It’s a process that really only affects Jason. It doesn’t affect anyone else.

“There is no reason for anybody else to fret about it. It doesn’t do them any good.”