Laurent Duvernay-Tardif did not use the ten days he had to think about. One day was enough for him to announce his decision: The Super Bowl champion will not take part in the next season of the NFL, which is due to start on September 10. The reason is the coronavirus pandemic. It’s a remarkable step in this line of business, and the Canadian will miss out on substantial revenue. Not surprisingly, the Kansas City Chiefs offensive line man is the first professional to avail himself of the waiver option found in the freshly negotiated agreement between the NFL and the players’ union.
Duvernay-Tardif, 29, is something of a unicorn in the NFL. The regular player of the champion is not only a 1.96 meter tall, 146 kilo muscle mountain, he is also the only active player with a medical degree. During the crisis, he followed the call of the Hippocratic Oath and volunteered to help medical personnel with the flood of Corona cases. On the south coast of Canada, about an hour from Montreal, Duvernay-Tardif helped in a long-term care facility. Because he was not yet allowed to practice as a doctor, the football player mainly took on tasks from the nursing staff. After the first day, he reported in the Sports Illustrated, he was exhausted. But: “I was looking forward to coming back.”
“One of the most difficult decisions in my life”
His work on the Corona front had a lasting impact on this unusual football professional. “I got a different view of this pandemic and saw the stress that people and the health system are exposed to,” he said, justifying his renunciation of the season. “I can’t allow myself to spread this virus in society just because I want to do the sport that I love.” His conclusions are clear: the doctor Duvernay-Tardif comes before the footballer Duvernay-Tardif. “If I take a risk, it’s because I care for patients.” This is “one of the most difficult decisions of my life, but I have to follow my conviction and do what I personally think is right”. The virus continues to be particularly violent in the United States. Johns Hopkins University has over four million infections and over 150,000 deaths. Ascending trend. The NFL season should still start as expected, many teams are even planning to at least partially fill their stadiums.
The everyday worries of many US citizens may not necessarily share professional athletes, they are among the best medically cared for people in the country. Perhaps that is why their condition in the corona crisis is rarely the focus. It is often about saving an entire sport from collapse – which is in the athletes’ own interests. If the show goes on, money will continue to flow into your account. But in some cases it’s about more than money. In any case, Duvernay-Tardif dispenses with a lot of them. Actually, he would have earned $ 2.75 million this season, now it’s $ 150,000. For him, the medical sense of duty has replaced financial incentives.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is a 1.96m, 146kg defensive mountain.
(Foto: imago images/Icon SMI)
Family and partner can also be an important argument. A look at the Bundesliga shows that. When it should have started again there, the Cologne player Birger Verstraete expressed concern in an interview with the Belgian TV station VTM News because his girlfriend belonged to the risk group because of a previous illness. “If every player could decide anonymously – without the club being a little offended – I would be very excited to see what the mood would look like,” he said at the time. “Everyone says the same thing: family health comes first.” His girlfriend then moved to Belgium as a precaution. Verstraete, who had also made more reproachful statements, backed off after a conversation with the Cologne club officials.
It is not yet clear whether other players in the NFL will follow Duvernay-Tardif’s example for whatever reason. The league and the player union, which has traditionally been powerful in US sports, only agreed on measures this Friday in which it is possible to play under the Corona yoke. This regulates, for example, that in the event of a season break, there are no further salary or bonus payments, when and how much can be exercised and also that a player does not have to participate.
Last Sunday, several NFL greats such as Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, Russell Wilson and JJ Watt had shown on their social channels how concerned the NFL was with the safety of the players. Tom Brady, who had previously been conspicuously silent on the subject, only joined in last Thursday. There are “more questions than answers”, but you have to trust the union. “We have to stick together and ask for the necessary answers from the NFL as a partner. We’re all in the same boat.” Laurent Duvernay-Tardif quickly decided not to be part of this crew.
.
