He is one of the most talented players in the Canadian Football League, and he is also one of the most intriguing and controversial.
Arland Bruce III, the receiver of the B.C. Lions, who play the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the 2011 Grey Cup this Sunday at B.C. Place Stadium, sees things from a unique perspective. Bruce has made North American headlines – and received fines for the Canadian Football League – for unique touchdown celebrations that included wearing a Spider-Man mask and taking off his helmet and shoulder pads and lying down dead in a tribute to Michael Jackson following his death.
Bruce, who turns 34 on Wednesday, has publicly let it be known he wants to be called Runako Reth, which in an African language translates to Handsome King, and plans to legalize the change, though he won’t say when. Reth is on the back of his practice jersey and above his locker and some of his teammates address that way, but he can’t wear it on his game-day jersey because only official names are allowed.
Bruce is in his 10th season in the CFL and has previously played with Winnipeg, Toronto and Hamilton, traded from Toronto to Hamilton because of a personality conflict with the head coach at the time, and from Hamilton to B.C. because the Ticats felt they could do without him. He has been a major contributing reason for the Lions, who started off 1-5 without him, but went 10-2 with him following the trade. He had 49 catches for 755 yards and eight touchdowns.
In this exclusive interview with sportsnet.ca, Bruce talks about the name change, plans to become a Canadian citizen (he was born in Kansas), his burgeoning career with an recording company seeking to make inroads in Canada and with an ear toward composing theme songs for each CFL teams, his love of the CFL and much more.
SN: You had the name RETH taped over your practice jersey in Hamilton and that caused quite a stir. You said you did it because you didn’t want to be called by your slave name. You now have the name RETH all the time on your practice jersey. Is this a full-time thing now?
BRUCE: That followed me over from Hamilton. That’s another story we can talk about. It’s not to get attention. It’s real.
SN: Do you plan to officially change your name?
BRUCE: Yes. I think I have to go back to the States and do that in front of a judge. As long as I’m not using it as fraud or anything like that, it’s legal. It’s the name I feel comfortable with and that’s what I’m going to go with.
SN: While you’re still playing football, after you retire?
BRUCE: When the time is right. Right now when I come out, I love my name, Arland Bruce, whey they call that. But at the same time there’s a reason behind everything.
SN: So what’s the reason?
BRUCE: I don’t really want to get into that. There was a big thing about it earlier in the season. Right now it’s not really an issue to me or the club. My teammates call me Reth. My coach calls me Reth. I just go about my business.
SN: How did you choose that name? Did you have a whole list of names?
BRUCE: It’s knowledge of self. I do a lot of reading all day, researching things whether it’s biology, science, history – all history, from any culture. I went to school for African studies, history, math, sociology and things like that. It’s just really becoming who I am at the age of 34.
SN: You are the third individual in your family tree to be called Arland Bruce and you named one of your sons Arland Bruce IV. If the name was important enough to give it to your son and going back all the way to your grandfather having that name, aren’t you changing the path of your own family?
BRUCE: I don’t think a name would change the path of who I am. I’m still a loving person. I have a big heart. I respect my family to the utmost. I spoke to my mother and father. They understand. They’re not surprised. They understand my journey.
SN: Why is the CFL so important to you?
BRUCE: Because when I was in Kansas City with the Kansas City Chiefs, I remember having a discussion with Warren Moon about the CFL. My dad was a big fan of his. He would tell me that he and his buddy used to watch CFL games and he’d talk about Warren Moon. When I was on Kansas City’s practice roster I’d speak to Warren every day. I never thought I’d play in Canada. It’s been good to me. My first year, I went to the Grey Cup with Winnipeg and lost. We had an MVP in Khari Jones, a great receiver in Milt Stegall and I was still learning the game, still learning my position. I was signed by Toronto in ’04 and welcomed by coach Pinball Clemons, who really showed me Toronto and showed me how I could be a star in this league. And I’ll never forget that. He said he’d like to grow old with me and I’ll never forget that, too. Just that mentality and the name he’s made for himself, I envied that. I loved that about him.
SN: A lot of NFL big-name players have come to the CFL and didn’t succeed because they considered it second-class. Do you have to have a certain mentality to succeed in the CFL if you’ve been in the NFL?
BRUCE: The CFL has been great to me, all across the board. Winning the championship (in 2004), going back to the championship (this year), being an all-star, giving back to the Sick Kids Hospital (in Toronto)…all those things that you dream about being a pro athlete has come to life for me. This has been a storybook year and my career has been a storybook, too, and to go over 10,000 yards in this league not too many people have done that. The list goes on and one that the CFL has provided me to make a decent living as far as contract wise. There’s so many great things to say about Canada, and to be on the west coast next to the ocean and the mountains, I’ve pretty much journeyed the whole country. From east to west to the middle, all I can say is this is somewhere I could probably live year-round after football because there’s so many opportunities now being here for 10 years. I’ve somewhat made a name for myself in the community that every team I’ve been through. The sky’s the limit.
SN: Have you ever considered being a Canadian citizen?
BRUCE: I’ve been working on that for the last year. I’ve just got to fill out the paperwork. I have all the documents at my house. I have no criminal record. All the signs are leading to doing it. I’m not losing anything by doing it. It was something I thought about after winning a championship with Toronto in 2004. I felt like it was a movie, similar to this year. Just the love I received in the city from the major corporations and the businesses…that has alerted me to think I can make a living up here. Not to be a coach, but to live a different life and go a different path than everybody else from the U.S. that plays up here does – live here, go home and never come back.
SN: You’ve evolved into a songwriter and you have this tune about Canada called Loonies and Toonies that’s available on iTunes. How did that happen and why?
BRUCE: I’ve been living in Canada for 10 years and that’s how I’ve been making my earning, paying my bills, with loonies and toonies in a sense. That’s Canadian currency. We’re trying to get Drake on it somehow, someway. He’s from Canada. He’s doing big things right now and he’s definitely worth getting on Loonies and Toonies because it has to do with Canadian currency.
SN: And you came up with idea on your own?
BRUCE: Mr. Money Maker is the artist. He’s the CEO of the record label I’m part of MMR Worldwide, based out of Kansas City. I’m the A&R for the record label in Canada. I find talent. We signed the fiancé of (Tiger-Cats’ linebacker) Ray Mariuz after hearing her sing the Canadian national anthem. We’re working with Universal and Sony right now and we’ll see how far it goes.
SN: So you’re more than just a football player?
BRUCE: I love music. I got involved with being in the studio, listening to music, making my own beats, playing the keyboard, learning the drums. It’s something I do outside of football. This is something I’m heavily involved in. We have tracks made for five out of the eight teams in the league: The Argos, the Ticats, the Lions, Calgary and Saskatchewan. The record label created the beat. I’m more of the author. We just finished the majority of the songs before the season started. The Lions’ song was finished the week I was traded. It was just a coincidence.
SN: What happened to you in Hamilton, you went from being a star to being overlooked in the offence and traded?
BRUCE: I felt that Hamilton was still upset about the playoffs from last year. I felt like that was still lingering, and when I didn’t have a (big) game, I’m being critiqued. Or my age was being talked about. I believe if there was no salary cap in the CFL we wouldn’t even be talking about age. I believe they were trying to dump salary, but we’re going to the Grey Cup, baby, so that’s all I want to talk about – winning another championship.
SN: What’s it like playing as B.C. Lion?
BRUCE: It’s put fire in me to be on another team. I’m glad to be where I’m at right now. Any time you have a chance to win a championship; it’s something you never forget. It’s just another thing I can add to my journey of playing professional football and I’m going to take advantage of it.
SN: You appear to be so much more focused than you were in the latter part of your days with the Toronto Argonauts, who traded you to Hamilton, and then they traded you to B.C. In both cases, it seemed like you were distracted and for lack of a better word you appear more mature now. Do you agree?
BRUCE: I’m actually the same guy. I’m just into a different atmosphere. No one knows what somebody else is going through in your personal life. I have five beautiful children that I love dearly. They’re not able to be here and watch me play and enjoy the success that I’m having or enjoy any of this. I think about them every day, all day, and I think how would they look at daddy if I was winning or losing or going through stuff? But, yeah, I have grown as a man, and this game has helped. I thank the CFL for allowing me to become a better man playing this sport and I will give kudos to the (B.C.) offensive coordinator (Jacques Chapdelaine) and the head coach (Wally Buono) for allowing me to be who I am and play football.
