Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif made an uneasy bit of history on Friday, announcing that he will be the first NFL player to opt out of the 2020 season due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. Duvernay-Tardif, who graduated from medical school and has been serving as an orderly at a long-term care facility in Montreal during the pandemic, said in a tweet that he couldn’t risk spreading the disease to his community:
My decision regarding the 2020 NFL season pic.twitter.com/jrY3nZfNWO
— Laurent D. Tardif (@LaurentDTardif) July 25, 2020
In the tweet, the 29-year-old Super Bowl-winning guard also said that he has faith in the procedures put in place by the Chiefs’ medical staff, and that there is “no doubt in [his] mind” that these procedures will minimize the risk. Unfortunately, there is no way to eliminate them, however, so that led to his decision to take the Opt Out Option for the upcoming season.
Duvernay-Tardif is the fourth med school graduate to play in the NFL, and the first to be practicing medicine while in the league. Given that he returned to Montreal to help in the aforementioned long-term care facility, he has seen the effects of the pandemic up close, likely helping him make the decision to be the first NFL player to publicly announce his intention to sit out the season.
Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill expressed his support for Duvernay-Tardif’s decision on Twitter on Friday night; quarterback Patrick Mahomes retweeted Hill’s message of support as well:
Gonna miss my brother in locker room , but I love this move ❤️ https://t.co/QABgoRZWod
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) July 25, 2020
The option to opt out was negotiated by the league and the NFL Players Association, and allows players deemed to be “high risk” for coronavirus to collect $350,000 if they sit out; players like Duvernay-Tardif, who are not high-risk, can earn up to $150,000. Players will have seven days from when the agreement is signed — ESPN reports that the signing will likely happen on Monday — to make a decision on opting out, so this upcoming week could see others follow Duvernay-Tardif’s lead.
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