Inside the CFL: Alouettes coach Tyrell Sutton has embraced Quebec ...

American came to Montreal in 2013 as a running back and is now married, comfortably speaks French and is seeking Canadian citizenship.

Published Jul 07, 2023  •  Last updated 1 hour ago  •  4 minute read

Alouettes' Tyrell Sutton with his wife Emilie Desgagné, daughter Kiara Gaudin, who is now 9, and son Tyson Sutton, who is now 3, at home in 2020. jpg

Tyrell Sutton never thought he was going to make the Alouettes a decade ago as a tailback, let alone become a fabric of Montreal society.

Instead, after returning to his native Akron, Ohio, in the winter of 2013 following his rookie season with the team, he has never gone home for an extended period. Rather Sutton, 36, has embraced everything about his adopted city and Quebec culture.

He’s about to celebrate his fourth wedding anniversary with Emilie Desgagné, a Winnipeg native he met while she was working for the Als. They have a 3-year-old son, Tyson, while Sutton’s the stepfather to Desgagné’s 9-year-old daughter, Kiara. Sutton took daily eight-hour French lessons before being hired last winter as the team’s running-backs coach. Not only does Sutton speak French at his Villeray home, he also practises the language during his long hours at Olympic Stadium with coaches and francophone players.

“You don’t go into somebody’s house without learning the rules and their ways,” Sutton explained this week during an interview with the Montreal Gazette.

Now a permanent resident, Sutton will attempt to get his Canadian citizenship in the future, even should the coaching profession not work out. While Sutton won’t discuss in detail his feelings about Quebec politics, he enjoys living in near anonymity, knowing the streets of Montreal remain relatively safe, racism isn’t rampant and his son shouldn’t have to constantly look over his shoulder in fear.

This province and city has provided him with the stability he craved for years.

“Being in one place, finding a culture I can become a part of, that I could learn and be different,” he explained. “It’s about being uncomfortable and I was uncomfortable here for I don’t know how long. As I became comfortable with the place, I grew to love it that much more.

“And I love everything about it. They have the best food and culture in the world. Politics is another thing I’m not going to get into, but you get to be yourself. You don’t have to worry about looking over your shoulder all the time (because of) random fights, killings and shootings happening. Being here for 10 years, this is the place I definitely needed to be. There are things that happen politically in the U.S. that won’t happen here. Being able to raise my son and not having to look over his shoulder all the time, simply because he’s Black. It helps. And it’s forcing me to change my ways. People are laid back here and don’t have the same ferocity or viciousness to defend themselves all the time because of some sort of racial undertone you can’t escape.

“It’s not as bad here. I’m not saying it (doesn’t exist) here. It’s just not as bad.”

Sutton isn’t the first American-born Alouette who decided to live in Montreal year-round. Tailback William Stanback does it, as did receiver Eugene Lewis before he signed with Edmonton last winter as a free agent. But Sutton, like former star quarterback Anthony Calvillo — now the Als’ offensive co-ordinator — found love and has raised a family here.

If anything convinced Sutton to stay, it was his last trip home in 2013 when, he confided, he was innocently arrested for DUI because his white girlfriend at the time was vomiting when police stopped his vehicle; Sutton unsure he’d be allowed back into Canada due to the incident. Despite saying he tested below the legal alcohol limit, he went to trial and was found innocent.

Sutton admitted he was no choirboy back home, becoming an occasional “idiot” while frequenting the wrong neighbourhoods. But his father was a police officer; his mother, a corrections officer. Trouble was the last thing he craved. Nor did he ever believe love was on the horizon.

Sutton came into contact quite naturally with Desgagné, the Als’ former director of digital content. Whenever they spoke, the conversation flowed easily along with the sparks between the two. When they found each other again on Tinder, the online dating site, Sutton believed it was fate, although they initially had to keep their relationship hidden.

If Desgagné is the anchor that holds the family together through the grind of a football season, she also has proven to be Sutton’s soulmate; the one great love of his life.

“She’s an amazing person, so down to earth,” he said, reverently. “She can sing. We can talk about anything. She’s competitive for no reason and extremely smart; I’m pretty sure she’s smarter than me. She’s got this loving quality. When you look at her eyes … oh my God, you get lost in her green eyes every time. And she’s amazing to look at. I can’t thank her enough for allowing me to continue my life while … essentially raising the kids.”

Before the interview ends, Sutton circles back, remembering a thought he said was imperative. As an immigrant, he never anticipated this was the path his life would take. But he also proved it was possible.

“The one thing I don’t want to do is give up on my family,” he said. “By learning French, becoming a citizen, I’m showing the you can do things. Even if it’s extremely uncomfortable, it’s worth it.”

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