Kansas City Chiefs OL Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has been recognized once again by his home country for his athletic excellence.
The Lou Marsh Trophy is awarded annually to the best Canadian athlete. This year, Duvernay-Tardif was named co-winner of the award alongside Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies. This marks the third time in the illustrious history that the award voting has ended in a tie, with 18 votes going to each of Davies and Duvernay-Tardif.
Duvernay-Tardif, 29, was a sixth-round draft pick by the Chiefs in the 2014 NFL draft. He eventually worked his way up to become the starting right guard for the team, while simultaneously attending medical school. The offensive lineman became the first player to opt-out ahead of the 2020 NFL season, remaining in Canada working in a long-term care facility, helping to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2019-2020 season, Duvernay-Tardif was the starting right guard for the Chiefs, helping them achieve greatness with their Super Bowl LIV win.
Humbled to win the Lou Marsh Award with @AlphonsoDavies one of the greatest athletes Canada has ever produced. pic.twitter.com/akoDMl5mG4
— Laurent D. Tardif (@LaurentDTardif) December 8, 2020
Some previous winners of the award include NHL legend Wayne Gretzky, Olympic gold medalist Nancy Greene, MLB star Joey Votto, and NBA legend Steve Nash. Duvernay-Tardif becomes the first NFL player to ever receive the Lou Marsh Trophy. He’s the first football player to win the award since Calgary Stampeders RB Jon Cornish won the award in 2013.
Duvernay-Tardif was also recently recognized for his activism off the field, being one of two Chiefs players named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year. His decision to opt-out helped spark a movement of retired nurses, doctors and health care professionals returning to assist at long-term care facilities across Canada and the United States.
