My decision regarding the 2020 NFL season pic.twitter.com/jrY3nZfNWO
— Laurent D. Tardif (@LaurentDTardif) July 25, 2020
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif — Montréal native and Kansas City offensive guard — was in a quandry. The good doctor wasn't in a residency program so he had to stay on the medical sidelines. Given that Montréal was the hardest hit city in Quebec and Canada, Duvernay-Tardif chose to cheer on medical personnel from the sidelines rather than play for the Alouettes.
When we had our CFL dream back in June, we figured Laurent Duvernay-Tardif would have a dilemma about whether to play football or stick with health care. We figured he would choose health care over football.
"If I am to take risks, I will do it caring for patients."
Duvernay-Tardif has been working at Centre Gertrude-Lafrance, a facility in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, south of Montréal, according to social media accounts. He earned a medical degree from McGill University. Long-term care homes in the Montréal area suffered some of the worst damage from COVID-19 in all of Canada.
"Laurent is a person with a lot of convictions and has always been true to his beliefs and what he thinks is the right thing to do for him," said Sasha Ghavami, Duvernay-Tardif's agent and longtime friend.
Duvernay-Tardif is not the only relatively well-known figure with a medical degree to help out. Joannie Rochette, Olympic bronze medal winning figure skater (2010, Vancouver), also has a recent medical degree and is working in a care home.
The NFL and NFLPA agreed to offer a US$150,000 stipend to players such as Duvernay-Tardif who opt out of the upcoming season. Duvernay-Tardif is the first NFL player to opt out of the 2020 season.
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Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, born in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, QC, started 2020 as only the fourth non-kicking Canadian to start in a Super Bowl. Duvernay-Tardif won a Super Bowl ring for the Kansas City NFL team.
Twitter capture and photo credit: @LaurentDTardif
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif: Super Bowl winner, super life-winner! Great post, Chad!
Posted by: JD | August 05, 2020 at 12:45 PM