Too drunk to curl?

Photo: The Canadian Press

Ryan Fry 

A curling team skipped by Jamie Koe that featured 2014 Olympic champion Ryan Fry was ejected from an Alberta bonspiel over the weekend for what organizers called unsportsmanlike behaviour resulting from excessive drinking.

The team was tossed from the Red Deer Curling Classic on Saturday night. The move was announced via Twitter on Sunday by the World Curling Tour, which oversees the $35,000 event.

"They were upstairs in our lounge beforehand and everything kind of seemed normal, I guess," Red Deer Curling Centre manager Wade Thurber said Monday. "Our bar staff eventually cut them off, and then it was time for them to go curl.

"That was probably the unfortunate thing was they had to go curl."

Fry, who won Olympic gold at the 2014 Winter Games, normally plays third for Team Brad Jacobs. He was filling in as a substitute on a Koe team that included Chris Schille and DJ Kidby.

Koe, who has represented the Northwest Territories at several national championships, tried a practice slide before Saturday's game but it did not go well, and he decided to sit out.

"He was too drunk to play," Thurber said from Red Deer. "They played three-handed."

Thurber said Kidby and Schille did their best to get Fry to focus on the game, but were unsuccessful.

"On the ice, he broke three brooms, Thurber said. "There was of course foul language, and a little bit of disruption with the sheets beside them."

"The other guys were trying to control Ryan and they couldn't," he added. "He just got past that point of being able to tell him anything. There was some damage in the locker room and some broombags kicked around. It was just conduct that was unacceptable."

The opposing team, skipped by Kody Hartung, went on to post a 10-5 victory. The teams shook hands after seven ends.

"I would like to sincerely apologize to the fans, participants and organizers of the Red Deer Curling Classic," Fry said in a statement issued by Curling Canada on Monday. "I came to the event to play and enjoy the sport, but a bad lapse in judgment affected the experience for others. My actions were truly disrespectful and embarrassing — the committee was right to disqualify us from play.

"I allowed myself to lose control — I offended people with my actions and I wish nothing more than to apologize to everyone individually. I will be taking proper steps to ensure this problem can never happen again. I will continue to strive to become a better version of myself while contributing positively to the sport and curling community that I love so much."