Faith, Family and Football

Toronto Argonaut talks about his Ukrainian roots

By Olena Wawryshyn

Under his Number 77 football jersey, Toronto Argonaut Michael Palmer has a tattoo emblazoned on his chest that tellingly reveals two of the elements in his life that are among the dearest to his heart.   The tattoo, a Greek Orthodox Cross, along with the words: “Lytsar Chrysta” or “Knight of Christ” speaks of his pride in his Ukrainian heritage and his strong religious faith.

 “My mother’s side is all Ukrainian, so I was baptized [Ukrainian] Greek Orthodox and was raised in the Ukrainian tradition,” says the wide receiver who is turning 26 at the end of this month.  While growing up in Ontario, Palmer attended a Ukrainian church in East Toronto on Easter and Christmas holidays and spent a great deal of time with his Ukrainian grandparents, Liz and Jerry Diachun.  “They had a great affect and influence on me,” he says.

 Along with the highlights of his football career, his Ukrainian roots are mentioned on Palmer’s biography page on the Argonauts' website.  Palmer has played for the Toronto team ever since he was selected in a 2003  Canadian Football League Draft.

 With the Argos, he has shown himself to be a versatile and solid team player. In this sense, he is following in the tradition set by other Canadians with a Ukrainian heritage who made a mark in the CFL: Steve Oneschuk (Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1955-60), Steve Patrick (Winnipeg Blue Bombers from 1952 to 1964), Terry Evanshen (Montreal Alouettes, Calgary Stampeders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the Argonauts, between 1965-1978; Lance Chomyc (Argonauts in the 1980s and 1990s); Danny Nykoluk (Argonauts in the late 1960s) and John Sopinka (who played with the Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes before becoming a Supreme Court Judge), among others.

Playing a good game on the field certainly seems to be in Palmer’s blood.  On his father’s side, he is the great-grandson of the late Henry Duncan Graham Crerar, the  general who led Canada’s army on the battlefields of the Second World War. And, Michael’s father,  Peter Palmer, played football for the Toronto Argonauts for a while before moving on to play for the BC Lions in Vancouver, where Michael was born and where his parents family lived a few years before moving to Ontario. 

As a young boy, Michael played many sports, but had not planned to follow in his father’s footsteps. In high school, he decided to play hockey with the goal of eventually getting a scholarship at a university in the United States. When that didn’t pan out, he decided to accept a place at the University of Guelph.  It was there that he started playing football seriously. In his first year, he tried out for and made the university’s football team, the Guelph Gryphons, and was named Rookie of the Year. “Going to Guelph was the blessing of God,” he says.

In 2005, Michael Palmer graduated with an Honours Degree in Philosophy. Interestingly, one of his philosophy professors at the University of Guelph was John McMurtry, who used to play football for the Calgary Stampeders.

“Philosophy always challenged me in my thinking,” says Palmer, adding that metaphysics “questions relating to the existence of God and free will” interested him most.  “It was a great way for me to evaluate my faith” he says.

 “I grew up as a Christian, and I accepted Christ into my heart and starting reading the Bible at about age 13 every night before going to bed for about five minutes. I was really influenced and fed on that,” he says, explaining the role his faith plays in his life.

When he is not on the football field, practising at the Argonauts’ facilities at the University of Toronto at Erindale in Mississauga or at games at various locations across Canada, Palmer enjoys listening to music, reading, and learning about business. He is also a regular player on the Argonauts’ charity hockey and basketball team. 

Charitable work, particularly within the Ukrainian community, is something he hopes to devote more time to in the future.  Perhaps it is his religious faith and the influence of his grandmother that have instilled in him a duty to help others.  “My baba has always sent things–boxes of clothes and non-perishable food–to Ukraine,” he says.

“One of my dreams is to take my baba over to Ukraine and to meet our family and help out,” he adds. “I don’t know a ton about Ukraine...but I am really interested in learning more.”