Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Opts Out of NFL Season to be on COVID-19 Frontline

from The Campus - September 16th '20

Felix Gendron the Student Landlord

Bishop’s Golf Star Ben Chasse Shines in Off Sea

While our Bishop’s Gaiters athletes compete aged golfers in the country. This is proven by his placefrom fall to spring, they all make sure to spend time ment and low scoring rounds in tournaments over the honing their craft in the summer off-season. Many sumlast two years, but also by some special recognition he mer sports leagues were cancelled this year due to the received earlier this off-season. COVID-19 pandemic. Luckily for Ben Chasse, golf hapThe FISU (Fédération Internationale du Sport pens to be a sport where it is relatively easy to adminisUniversitaire) organizes international competitions for ter competitions with social distancing policies. Chasse elite university student-athletes from over 150 counplayed golf throughout the summer and won the Nova tries around the globe. This year the golf championship Scotia Men’s Amateur Championship, a huge accomwas set for June 17 through June 19 in Taiwan. plishment. Unfortunately due to COVID-19, the event was The 2020 Nova Scotia Men’s Amateur Chamcancelled, but team Canada announced their squad pionship was held at Ken-Wo golf club in the Annapolis anyways. Ben Chasse was one of only three athletes seValley region of Nova Scotia. The tournament was held lected to represent the entire nation, once again proving over three days with one 18-hole round played each he is one of the very best university golfers around. day. Chasse shot 67-70-68 on the 70 par course, for a When asked how it felt to be named to Team three day total of -5. When asked about what went right Canada and if he had expected the recognition, Chasse during this performance Chasse replied: “I was really said: “It’s something I’ve been striving for, for a few years just doing the basics really well and eliminating misnow. I thought after my performance at Nationals last takes as much as possible. Wasn’t anything too flashy year I had a decent chance, but it was definitely a bit of just an overall strong performance from start to finish.” a reality check once it was official. Pretty unfortunate Chasse is the reigning MVP of the Bishop’s that I wasn’t able to go, but it’s just all the more reason to men’s golf team. He is also one of the top universitykeep pressing and make it happen next year.”

David Rossiter Sports Editor

In 2019, Taylor Kauffeldt, a recent alumnus from the class of 2020, made Gaiters fans everywhere proud when he was drafted 55th overall in the NLL draft as a defenseman for the Buffalo Bandits. While at Bishop’s, Kauffeldt was a standout long-pole defenceman for the Gaiter’s lacrosse team and was always one of the top-performing defencemen in all of CUFLA. In his time here at Bishop’s, Kauffeldt earned himself a variety of accolades, including being named an All-Canadian in 2017 and defensive MVP for Bishop’s University. The Aurora, Ontario native also served as a captain for the Gaiter’s lacrosse team for many years. Kauffeldt suffered a knee injury before the 2019-2020 lacrosse season that sidelined him for many months and prevented him from playing a single game his senior year. It is a great testament to his skill and work ethic that he was still drafted in the fourth round of the NLL draft. The NLL provides the highest level of competition for box lacrosse, which is played indoors as opposed to the outdoor league that can be seen here at Frontline Keagan Mackay Contributor We all understand what kind of change this world has seen in the past six months through various societal changes and turning points. Experiencing the good, the bad, and the ugly that has come with these changes has rightfully shown people’s true colours, as well as where they stand in regards to what they care about most. A prime example of that is with the reigning Super Bowl champions Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive guard: Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Duvernay-Tardif currently plays for the Chiefs as one of their starting guards. However, before the NFL, he was a student at McGill University. He got his medical degree and played football for the university at the same time. After being drafted in the 6th round by the Chiefs, his football career became his top priority, which led their team to a Super Bowl championship this past season. It also made him the first player with a medical degree to win. But when the season ended in early February 2020, the world completely changed its mindset. So did Duvernay-Tardif. At the beginning of this NFL season, they gave the players the option to opt-out of the season if they did not feel it was safe or right for them to play. DuvernayTardif saw this as a fork in the road with what he had Bishop’s. The Buffalo Bandits, the team in which Taylor Kauffeldt was drafted, finished the 2019 season as the number one team in the NLL with 14 wins and four losses. Unfortunately for the Bandits, they lost in the finals in a best of three series against the Calgary Roughnecks and were unable to claim the National Lacrosse League Cup. In the coming years, Kauffeldt hopes to join the roster of the Bandits and get the chance to play alongside stars such as Josh Byrne, Dhane Smith, and Chris Cloutier. Playing in the NLL means being able to play against the best box lacrosse players in the world. Despite his unfortunate knee injury Kauffeldt is still looking to make an impact on the team and has recently signed a two-year contract with the Buffalo Bandits. With this recent signing, there is a good chance that we, as Gaiters fans, could see recent graduate Taylor Kauffeldt wearing a Bandit’s jersey and playing professional lacrosse. Although he might no longer be wearing the traditional purple and white jersey that we see here at going on in his life. He could either go on and potentially win another Super Bowl with his team, but also put himself at risk of contracting and spreading the virus, or he could stay on the frontlines of the medical field to help give back to the community that raised him up. As it did for a lot of people worldwide, this pandemic brought his priorities and his convictions to the front. On July 24, Duvernay-Tardif released a statement through the Chiefs and on Twitter explaining why he was opting out of the season. He explained he wanted to stay where he was and fight the virus where it mattered most: on the frontlines of the medical field. Though he is still completing his residency to become a full-fledged doctor, he still realizes his potential and how integral he can be in helping his colleagues in a medical setting. One quote from his statement on Twitter really shows his integrity: “I cannot allow myself to potentially transmit the virus in our communities simply to play the sport that I love. If I am to take risks, I will do it caring for the patients.” He understands the impact of this virus more than most because he lives through it when he goes to work every day. With this decision, he is protecting those around him. He feels that if he is going to be putting himself at risk, he might as well do it valiantly and priGolf fans can look forward to seeing Ben Chasse chase that goal this year. While there is no competition that is immune to change, there are multiple tournaments for the fall season that are tentatively slated to occur. Make sure to check Gaiters.ca for the most up to date information.

Ben Chasse with the 2020 NS men’s amateur trophy

2020 Gaiter Lacrosse Grad Selected in NLL Draft

Photo Courtesy of Gaiters.ca

Hayden Boreham Contributor

Bishop’s, he will be making every Gaiters fan proud. Everyone should keep their eyes on Kauffeldt as he makes the jump from college lacrosse player here at Bishop’s to professional lacrosse player in Buffalo.