Lou Marsh Trophy to be renamed due to concerns over racist language in its work

The trophy awarded to the Canadian athlete of the year changes its name.

The Lou Marsh Trophy has been awarded annually since 1936 to the country’s top athlete, male or female, with Nancy Greene, Wayne Gretzky, Bianca Andreescu and Alphonso Davies among the recipients.

Decathlete Damian Warner won the 2021 award after winning gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

The award was named in honor of Lou Marsh, a former NHL football player and referee who spent more than 40 years working at the Toronto Star’s athletic department in a variety of different roles.

Questions have been raised in recent years about whether the honor should be renamed due to some of the racist language used in Marsh’s writing.

The Toronto Star is receiving public submissions on a new name for the trophy, and a committee is to choose a replacement before the 2022 award is presented in December.

WATCH | Warner talks about winning the Lou Marsh Trophy: