Like everything in 2020, the debate surrounding which Canadian would walk away with the Lou Marsh Trophy honouring the country’s athlete of the year was unique.
And in the end, so were its winners.
Twenty-year-old Alphonso Davies, the Bayern Munich and Canadian men’s team wing back, and 29-year-old Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, the Super Bowl champion who skipped the 2020 NFL season to keep working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, were announced co-winners of the annual trophy Tuesday.
Each received 18 first-place votes from a panel of 37 sports journalist from across the country. Denver Nuggets’ guard Jamal Murray, Olympique Lyonnais defender Kadeisha Buchanan and Portland Thorns striker Christine Sinclair rounded out the top five.
It is only the third tie since 1936 and the first since hockey great Wayne Gretzky and wheelchair racer and activist Rick Hansen shared the award in 1983.
As debate raged on social media about the rare draw, the two athletes in question shared mutual respect.
“This year has been a roller coaster and I’m very happy to be able to share the Lou Marsh with another deserving winner,” Davies wrote on Twitter. “It hasn’t been an easy year for many Canadians (and) we hope we were able to bring some happiness to you with our accomplishments this year.”
Duvernay-Tardif repaid the compliment in kind. “Humbled to win the Lou Marsh Award with one of the greatest athletes Canada has ever produced,” he wrote.
The case for Davies was rooted in his success on the field, in a year when he has earned a reputation as one of the best left backs in the world. He helped Bayern Munich win five trophies this season, and became the first male Canadian international to lift a UEFA Champions League trophy. There were individual accolades too — he won the Bundesliga’s rookie award, recorded the fastest on-field time, earned a nod on the Champions League squad of the season, and claimed Canada Soccer’s men’s player of the year award for the second time in three years.
The drive forcing behind Durvernay-Tardif’s case were his deeds off the field. In a year like no other, athletes fought to make their voices and actions heard, about racial and social justice, politics, mental and physical health and more.
The Montrealer, an offensive lineman with the Kansas City Chiefs, passed on the current NFL season to lend a hand in Canada’s fight against the global coronavirus pandemic. The McGill University medical-school graduate deferred a $2.75-million (U.S) salary to spend the season studying online at Harvard while continuing to work as an orderly at a Quebec long-term care facility where he has been a regular presence since the COVID-19 outbreak.
While outstanding performance and achievement are the main criteria for the selection of a Lou Marsh winner, other factors such as integrity, good character and contributions to the community may also be taken into account by voters. Duvernay-Tardif certainly fit that bill.
“As athletes, we have the power to make a positive impact in our society,” Duvernay-Tardif tweeted Sunday, after he was one of five activist athletes named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated. “To be recognized for my involvement off the field by one of the biggest sport awards means everything to me.”
It’s not as if Duvernay-Tardif had no success on the gridiron. While he may have only played three games for the Chiefs this calendar year in one of the sport’s least glamorous roles — his job is to protect the quarterback — he joined a short list of Canadians with a Super Bowl ring.
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Similarly, Davies’ influence wasn’t limited to the field. The product of Edmonton, who was born in a refugee camp in Ghana and moved to Canada at the age of five, became a supporter of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees this year, using his vast reach on social media channels and his public profile to raise awareness and funds, including COVID-19 relief money.
“Canada welcomed me and my family and I am grateful for the opportunity to realize my dream of being a professional football player and representing Canada on the world stage,” Davies said in a statement after Tuesday’s vote.
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2020-12-08 23:48:45Z
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