According to MLive.com, four time German championship winning quarterback with the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions, Casey Therriault, is retiring from playing football.
He is coming off his first loss ever in the German championship game, after he and his team, the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions were edged 14-13 in German Bowl XXXIX by the Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns. With Therriault at quarterback, the Lions had won the previous four straight titles including three against the Unicorns.
The Grand Rapids, Michigan native explained to Peter Wallner of MLive.com:
“I’m pretty sure my time is done. I know it’s not the most opportune time given it’s right after the championship game and the only one I’ve lost. But it’s about that time to start a new career, start a life and settle down, have a home and do the grown-up thing.”
Therriault concludes a five year career with the Lions that saw him earn championship game MVP three times while also winning the Eurobowl title twice, and winning the MVP honor too. He amassed 14,408 yards passing and threw 168 touchdown passes during his five seasons.
According to MLive.com, the 28-year-old Therriault got married just over a year ago and now plans to return to South Florida. He said that he hopes to eventually get back into football as a quarterback coach or open an academy to teach life skills to athletes.
He has not taken the easy route to success in football. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Therriault was a star high school quarterback and then went on to guide Grand Rapids Community College to the 2009 National Junior College Athletic Association championship game. However, his career came off the rails in January 2008 when he was involved in a street fight that led to a death. Therriault pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and served six months in prison.
After he was released and continued playing at GRCC, he eventually signed and played two seasons at Jackson State, a predominately all black school, where he became known as “the White Tiger.” His journey became the subject of an ESPN E:60 segment in 2011.
Despite an impressive career at Jackson State, he never grabbed attention from the NFL or CFL and so landed in Germany, helping Braunschweig become the top team in Europe.
He is philosophical about his career:
“Football has definitely been my gateway of escape for so many years. It’s been the thing that has taken me to these unforeseen circumstances and brought me all over the world. I learned much just by playing football. I know I’ll look back and appreciate all the game has done for my life.”