VANCOUVER – The pain from a fractured arm that cost him eight games early this season has long since disappeared for Kenny Lawler. But a far deeper hurt brought the Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver to tears at BC Place on Friday. The question that triggered it: what had he sacrificed to be able to stand in that end zone two days before playing in the Grey Cup? “Man, don’t make me cry,” Lawler said, turning away in a futile attempt to compose himself.
A full minute later, the 30-year-old was finally able to get it out. After missing eight games with that broken arm, he returned to the lineup only to have his family hit with one tragedy after another. “I lost my uncle,” Lawler managed.
“I lost my aunt. My step-sister. All within the season.
Within about three months of each other. Not being able to go see family, obviously in-season, it’s always the hardest thing.” We often hear about the sacrifices players make to reach the pinnacle of this profession.
It’s not just their bodies they put on the line. “You sacrifice a lot of family time,” Lawler said. “We all struggle with that.
The time that we have in the facility and after hours with the guys...
my son hates it when I leave the house. So it’s hard, man. It’s hard.
” Kenneth James Lawler II is seven years old. Along with Lawler’s wife, Myannah, he’s also the light of his dad’s day when the Bombers star finally does have some down time back in Winnipeg. “Not every American up here gets that.
