Stampeders linebacker Marc Calixte retired from the team after 10 seasons in the CFL. (Al Charest/QMI Agency)
It wasn’t the knee injury that ended Marc Calixte’s football career. It was his son’s reaction to it.
“When I got hurt, my (five-year-old) son saw me on crutches with a big brace on my leg, and he started crying his eyes out,” the longtime Calgary Stampeders linebacker said Tuesday after announcing his retirment.
“I came to realize what I do has a lot bigger impact than what I previously thought.
“That helped in my decision making. It was time to pull the plug and call it a career.”
Calixte was the longest-serving player on the Stamps roster.
The 34-year-old joined the Stampeders in 2003 after being selected in the first round (seventh overall) of the CFL Canadian College Draft out of the University of Tennessee-Martin.
Calixte, who blew out his left knee on Labour Day, was facing a lengthy rehab process if he elected to keep playing.
