A volunteer pep band that played regardless of whether the Toronto Argonauts were winning or losing, bankrupt or flush, has gone missing from BMO Field this season, with the band’s leader suggesting the Argos nudged the group into a quiet retirement.



Steve Hayman, the founder and self-described “musical dictator” with the Argonotes, said officials had been squeezing the band out of the game day festivities since the team moved to its new outdoor home last season. The Argonotes had been a feature at Argo home games for two decades at Rogers Centre.



“I think the team doesn’t really want us,” Hayman said. “They weren’t very encouraging. They said that we were welcome to come back, but under certain conditions that kind of meant that we weren’t going to be able to play very much.”



Among those conditions: They would no longer be invited to play for the crowd during games as part of the official...