Montreal Alouettes quarterback Anthony Calvillo isn’t ready to officially announce his retirement, but he’s certainly leaning that way.
“I’m going to just think about it for a couple more weeks,” Calvillo said on the Jeff Blair Show Tuesday morning on Sportsnet 590 The Fan. “But as I said before I’m definitely favouring not coming back just because I’ve learned so much about concussions.”
The 41-year-old was only able to play in seven games in 2013 after suffering a concussion when his head was slammed into the turf on a hit against the Saskatchewan Roughriders on Aug. 17.
Calvillo said he felt immense pressure on the front of his head immediately after the hit and the feeling persisted throughout the season.
“I felt it right away when I got hit on the football field,” Calvillo said. “I was tired a lot. I would take two or three hour naps a day and still fall asleep at nine or 10 at night because I was still so tired. Noise was bugging me. I would be very irritated whenever there was noise or the kids were bugging me. I was going upstairs and would take a break from all the normal stuff in our household.”
Initially, it took the legendary pivot a few weeks to overcome the symptoms but when he tried to return to the field the “head pressure” quickly returned.
“It took me awhile to get over those symptoms but once those symptoms were gone then I was able to start working out very slowly,” he explained. “Just walking on the treadmill and going through the steps to come back. I was on pace and going well but once I started to challenge my brain – the cognitive stuff like memorizing the plays – it brought back the symptom of the pressure in the head. Once that came back, I knew the season was done.”
As an athlete, it was challenging for Calvillo to sit out but it was more important not to take any risks with the health of his brain.
“We’re ingrained in our system to be on the field at all times,” he said. “We go through injuries and when we hurt something they’re trying to get us back on the field. That’s part of our sport. When it comes to the brain, I think the fact we’re talking about it a lot more and there going over all the symptoms to be aware of, that’s the challenge for the athletes. You have to be truthful with these doctors. Because in the long run, that’s going to pay off for you. If not, you’re going to put yourself in jeopardy.
“To me, that’s huge because as athletes we put our bodies through so much and last thing you want to injure is your brain. At the end of the day, most important thing I’ve learned (was telling the truth to doctors). This sport, whether it’s football or anything, is temporary but you have your whole life to live.”
For now, Calvillo plans to sit back with his family and go through all the options before making an official decision on his future.
He said coaching will be a part of his future but whenever he does decide on retirement – whether it’s this or next year – Calvillo plans to take a year off and finally spend a summer with his family.
“I want to just relax and and get away from the pressure. I want to enjoy my summer and I want relax with my family . Eventually down the road, I want to go in coaching for sure but in that first year I want to just sit back, relax and just enjoy a summer off.”
