Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has been crowned a Sports Illustrated “2020 Sportsperson of the Year.” And for good reason: not only does he play football for the Kansas City Chiefs, he also has a doctorate in medicine from Montréal’s McGill University. In his second NFL season, Laurent earned the position of starting right guard and subsequently became an integral part of the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl win in February of 2020.

Passionate about both football and medicine, Laurent continues to find a balance between the two.

Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, Laurent lent a hand by working as an orderly at a Montréal long-term care facility. In July, he announced that he was opting out of the 2020 NFL season to focus on serving those in need, becoming the 1st player of the 2020 NFL season to announce such a decision.