The Vysocina Gladiators are definitely aiming for a title in a Czech League of American Football, CLAF, season shortened by the coronavirus with the signing of Joey Bradley as their new quarterback.
The CLAF was originally intended to start March 29 but like leagues throughout the world it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the easing of the lockdown in the Czech Republic, the Czech Association of American Football, CAAF, decided they would like to hold a season after all with the men’s senior league scheduled to start August 15.
The Gladiators finished the 2019 season with a 7-3 record, reaching the semifinals where they were eliminated by the eventual champions, the Prague Lions.
Bradley started the season playing for the L’Hospitalet Pioners in Spain’s top league, leading the team to a 3-2 record before the coronavirus put a stop to the rest of the season.
The 29 year old, 6’1″, 185 lb Bradley from Seattle (Issaquah), Washington, spent part of the 2016 season and the entire 2017 and 2018 seasons with Poland’s Gdynia Seahawks after guiding the Lisboa Devils to back-to-back Portuguese championship titles. The Seahawks were runner ups in Poland in 2017 and reached the semifinals in 2018. He had signed to play in Finland in 2019 but a difference of opinion with the head coach forced him to leave the team. He was nominated for the Harlon Hill award at the University of New Haven (Div. II) after throwing for 2,652 yards and 20 touchdowns in his senior year.
