KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the NFL offseason on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, a Kansas City Chiefs player is helping out his fellow health care workers in his native Canada, according to Sports Illustrated.
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif shared his journey — in a first-person narrative told to Sports Illustrated reporter Greg Bishop — from serving as a starting right guard for the Super Bowl LIV champions to helping in the health care industry in Quebec.
“My first day back in the hospital was April 24,” Duvernay-Tardif, who holds a doctorate degree in medicine, told Sports Illustrated. “I felt nervous the night before, but a good nervous, like before a game, and I packed everything neatly: scrubs, white coat, extra pens, even a second pair of shoes that I could leave in my locker, knowing they were clean. I wasn’t aware the Chiefs had drafted a running back that night in the first round, even though I will block for my future teammate, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, from LSU.”
Duvernay-Tardif said there has been one positive COVID-19 case at the long-term care facility near Montreal where he has been working.
In 2018, Duvernay-Tardif made headlines when he asked the NFL if he could include M.D. on the back of his jersey after he got his medical doctorate from McGill University. The NFL denied his request.
This story was originally published by KSHB in Kansas City, Missouri.