Laurent Duvernay-Tardif to receive the Order of Canada

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (YouTube)

According to 3Down Nation on Wednesday, former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Dr. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif of St. Hilaire, Quebec has been appointed to the Order of Canada. Duvernay-Tardif is recognized mostly for opting out of the 2020 National Football League season after winning a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs to work in a long term medical care facility in Quebec during the coronavirus pandemic.

For Duvernay-Tardif’s heroic decision, he won numerous sports awards. They included the 2020 Lou Marsh Award (presented to the best Canadian athlete of the year and later changed to the Northern Star Award), the 2020 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award, and the 2021 Muhammad Ali Spots Humanitarian Award at the ESPYs. Upon his graduation in medicine at the University of McGill in 2018, and the formation of his foundation in promoting the benefits of combining education and physical activity, Duvernay-Tardif was named a Knight for the National Order of Quebec in 2019.

On the football field as an offensive lineman, Duvernay-Tardif played five seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2015 to 2019. When he returned to the NFL after his one season of opting out, he joined the New York Jets for two seasons. Duvernay-Tardif had one solo tackle in his NFL career. Ironically, it came in his second final NFL game, in a 23-6 Jets loss to the Seattle Seahawks on New Year’s Day, 2023.

Other Canadians with a sports connection receiving the honour are curler Kevin Martin of Killam, Alberta and broadcaster Scott Oake of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Martin won a gold medal for Canada in men’s curling at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver.