Despite not stepping onto a football field nor taking a single snap this NFL season, Kansas City Chiefs offensive guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is still reeling in accolades as the co-winner of the 2020 Lou Marsh Award.
The Lou Marsh Award is given annually to Canada’s top athletes, professional or amateur. The trophy is given by a panel of Canadian journalists, who vote in December.
This year, LDT is the co-winner of the award, shared with soccer player Alphonso Davies, who stars for Bayern Munich in Germany’s Bundesliga.
Past winners of the Lou Marsh Award include NHL stars Wayne Gretzky (four times), Bobby Orr, Sidney Crosby (twice), and Mario Lemieux; Olympic gold medalist alpine skier Nancy Greene (twice); soccer player Christine Sinclair; and NBA player (now coach) Steve Nash. But Duvernay-Tardif is the first NFL player to receive the honor.
Duvernay-Tardif began 2020 as the Chiefs’ starting right guard and played in three postseason games, including Super Bowl LIV over the San Francisco 49ers. LDT became just the ninth player in NFL history to win the Lombardi trophy.
When the COVID-19 virus entered the North American continent, LDT chose to opt-out of the 2020 season to help with the relief effort in his home country. Duvernay-Tardif graduated from McGill University in 2018 with a Doctor of Medicine and a Master of Surgery degree.
“This is one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make in my life,” Duvernay-Tardif wrote at the time, “But I must follow my convictions and do what I believe is right for me personally.”
Since the pandemic hit Canada’s borders, LDT has been working around the clock at a long-term care facility in Quebec.
“Being at the frontline during this offseason has given me a different perspective on this pandemic and the stress it puts on individuals and our healthcare system, Duvernay-Tardif continued. “I cannot allow myself to potentially transmit the virus in our communities simply to play the sport that I love. If I am to take risks, I will do it by caring for patients,” he pledged.
LDT has not hit the NFL gridiron since winning the Super Bowl back on Feb. 2 but has since joined his quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, as one of Sports Illustrated‘s five 2020 Sportspersons of the Year.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif began his NFL career in 2014 as the 200th overall selection by the Chiefs.
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