Whether donating funds to laid-off workers or delivering personal protective equipment to heroes on the front lines, many athletes around the world have stepped up to help amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kansas City Chiefs guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is in a unique position. The Canadian NFLer and freshly minted Super Bowl champ has a doctorate in medicine from Montreal’s McGill University, so when health ministry officials in his home province of Quebec set out to recruit more healthcare professionals (especially students) to help on the front lines, Duvernay-Tardif answered the call.
He shared his experience in a first-person piece for Sports Illustrated, as told to writer Greg Bishop, reflecting on his experience during the first days of lockdown to his decision to step in and help.
“It’s wild to think that just 10 weeks earlier I played in the biggest game in sports,” Duvernay-Tardif said, via Bishop. “I was reminded of that even at the facility, when one of the people training me turned and said, ‘You’re the football player, right?’ When I answered yes, he said, ‘Bro, you just won the Super Bowl.’ Indeed, I told him, and now I just want to help.”
After going through training, he was assigned to a long-term care facility an hour outside Montreal, his first day on the job scheduled for April 24.
“My shift started at 7:30 a.m. I found out that I would be working for now in more of a nursing role, helping relieve the workers who have already been in place,” he explained. “There’s so much that needs to happen just to visit with every patient—masks donned and hands washed and equipment like gloves and visors tugged on and off and thrown away. I handled a medication cart, making sure to administer the right dosage and in the proper way. Honestly, I was drained after — and looking forward to going back.”
Prior to donning scrubs and PPE on the front lines, Duvernay-Tardif used his platform as an athlete to help spread awareness about the novel coronavirus in the early days of the pandemic and continues to do so now, more than ever.
“Playing in the Super Bowl vs. heading back to the medical system during a pandemic is totally different. Back in February, I knew that 100 million-plus people were going to be watching, and I wanted to win. When you’re going in to help it’s more about your duty as a doctor and a citizen. It’s not the time to be the hero and be impulsive. You’ve gotta do it the right way. You’ve gotta really take this seriously when it comes to washing your hands, not touching anything. I know it sounds silly; it’s simple stuff. But when you’re in a long-term care facility where there are cases, you know for sure you’re going to be exposed if you don’t take those appropriate measures. You know there’s risk involved,” he said.
The 29-year-old is also serving on the NFL Players Association’s task force, which will play a crucial role in determining how the league can safely return.
“We will look at how teams will train, how they will travel and how the games will take place and, since this is the NFL, a league with a lot of resources, it seems like every option is on the table,” he said. “For now, we’re just getting started.”
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