Courtesy Vancouver Province:

Empires have fallen in less time than it took the CFL to conclude his disciplinary hearing, but now that an arbitrator has ruled in his favour Jason Jimenez would like to believe this unfortunate affair is over.

The B.C. Lions offensive tackle, after all, simply exercised his rights under the league’s collective-bargaining agreement, presented his case and an independent authority — Alberta judge Neil Wittmann — found that his much-discussed hit on Calgary Stampeders defensive end Anthony Gargiulo was accidental.

But Jimenez also understands the court of public opinion may not be as forgiving as the CFL courts. About the time Jimenez crashed into Gargiulo, he was branded a villain and an arbitrator’s ruling won’t change that perception.

That’s why, seven months after the fact, Jimenez is still protesting his innocence even after Wittmann declared it.

“The CFL contended what I did was malicious and intentional,” said Jimenez, at the team’s training camp in Abbotsford on Thursday. “Some people believe that. I think that’s the furthest thing from the truth.

“If I would have crashed into one of my own teammates, it would have been deemed an accident. Because it was the opposing team, I’m the anti-Christ.”

And if he overstates the point, it isn’t by much. The circumstances of Jimenez’s hit on Gargiulo are well known by now, as are the details of the messy appeals process and his ultimate exoneration in early May. What’s less clear, however, are the facts of the case and they present a different picture than the one presented in the emotionally charged atmosphere of last November.

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