It is not often that I write about a football player who retires from the Canadian Football League before even playing in a single CFL game. However, that is what Toronto Argonauts wide receiver Kolton Nelson of Edmonton, Alberta decided to do on Wednesday at the age of 27.
The reason why Nelson has retired deserves high praise. According to the Toronto Argonauts Media Relations Department, Nelson has decided that assisting in the United States healthcare system is more important at this time than playing Canadian football.
Nelson is a nurse and has experience in that position at the intensive care unit of a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. There are currently 8,167 cases of coronavirus in the state of Kentucky and 376 deaths.
Nelson played rugby at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri, and then went to play professional rugby in Australia. He was signed by the Argonauts on February 10. Interestingly, he never played college football in Canada or the United States.
However, Kolton Nelson comes from a family with strong Canadian Football League roots. His grandfather Roger Nelson was a veteran offensive tackle with the Edmonton Eskimos in 1954 and again from 1956 to 1967. In that time, Roger Nelson won Grey Cups in 1954 and 1956, and was the Canadian Football League’s most outstanding lineman in 1959. Then, Mark Nelson of Edmonton, (Kolton’s father), played six seasons as a linebacker with the Calgary Stampeders and Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1980-1986. Mark Nelson is currently the special teams coach of the Argonauts.
As an assistant coach, Mark Nelson has won three Grey Cups with three different teams. He was the Eskimos special teams and running backs coach in 1993, the Argonauts defensive line coach in 1996, and the Ottawa Redblacks defensive co-ordinator and linebacker coach in 2016.
Kolton’s brother Kyle Nelson also has a football background. He has been the long snapper for the San Francisco 49ers since 2014. He also has National Football League experience with the San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins.
