Laurent Duvernay-Tardif: Don’t Call Me a Hero

In 2018, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif became the first active NFL player to hold a medical degree when he graduated from school.

The Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman also became the first NFL player to opt out of the 2020 NFL season. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif didn’t opt out to protect himself or his family. He opted out to help others. 

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif had been the Chiefs’ starting right guard for five years. He played every snap of their Super Bowl victory over the 49ers.

For the past year, he’s been working at a long term care facility in Montreal during the pandemic. Upon his return to football, he describes what it was like in his own words.

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“I have no regrets when it comes to opting out of the 2020 NFL season and working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in a long-term care facility. I knew that my purpose this last year was to use my medical background to care for others. My role wasn’t to play football, but instead to be on the front lines of the global pandemic.

“I don’t think what I did was heroic. And some days, at the long-term care facility, what I was doing definitely couldn’t be described as heroic.”

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“This past year, I got a different sense of what really matters in life. I saw so much suffering. I saw so much resilience. The healthcare workers displayed resilience like I’ve never seen before.

You think that playing a team sport makes you a team player? Maybe, but look at people on the front lines, and you will see what it means to be a team player. Every day, the front-line workers had to work as a team if they wanted to survive the pandemic.”