Kansas City, MO - Chiefs offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif always wanted to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Now he is. Not as a Kansas City Chief football player exactly, but as a medical worker on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Three days before Super Bowl LIV in February, a reporter asked what I thought about the coronavirus. Crazy, right?" he told Sports Illustrated.
Duvernay-Tardif – the first NFL player to take the field while holding a medical degree – got busy right after the Super Bowl win and the celebrations in Kansas City.
He returned to his native Quebec, Canada to work at a long-term care facility.
Duvernay-Tardif holds a doctorate in medicine, though he hasn't picked a specialty nor completed a residency program.
The Chiefs starting right guard shared with SI his experiences, and the magazine tells his tale through his own words.
“Soon into the crisis, I started to ask how I could help."
Duvernay-Tardif told SI that the Chiefs have been “amazing” in their support of his efforts fighting the coronavirus.
“They were proud of the fact that I wanted to go help,” Duvernay-Tardif told SI. “They said they would support me.”