Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec made sports history on Tuesday by becoming the first National Football League player to win the Lou Marsh Award, which is presented to the Canadian athlete of the year. Duvernay-Tardif in fact shared the award with Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies of Edmonton, Alberta.
Duvernay-Tardif was the starting right guard for the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV in Miami. He was instrumental in helping Chiefs running back Damien Williams record 104 rushing yards, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes have 286 passing yards and two touchdowns, in a 31-20 win over the San Francisco 49ers.
However, there is another significant reason why Duvernay-Tardif is being honoured by the Canadian media. During the 2020 National Football League regular season, you are not hearing Duvernay-Tardif’s name on the field, and that is because he is also a medical doctor. He opted out of the NFL season to work at a long-term care facility in Montreal hit hard by coronavirus.
Earlier this week, Duvernay-Tardif was also the fourth Canadian athlete to win the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year. He followed hockey players Bobby Orr of Parry Sound, Ontario (1970), Wayne Gretzky of Brantford, Ontario (1982), and Bobby Bourne of Kindersley, Saskatchewan (1987). Like Duvernay-Tardif, Bourne was recognized for his humanitarianism, and his work with disabled children.
Duvernay-Tardif was also one of five athletes recognized by Sports Illustrated in 2020. The others were Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, basketball players LeBron James, and Breanna Stewart, and women’s tennis star Naomi Osaka. Stewart is being recognized for her support for women’s equality, while Osaka, James, and Mahomes were recognized for being a voice for racial equality.
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