Marc-Olivier Brouillette welcomes son on playoff Sunday

It wasn’t even a decision for Marc-Olivier Brouillette.

When his wife went into labour Saturday evening, staying by her side was much more important than a football game – even in the playoffs.

“There was no attempt to talk me out of it … family comes first every single time and (the coaches) were on board with that,” Brouillette told reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday.

Brouillette was removed from the Roughriders roster just hours before kickoff against the Redblacks on Sunday which left many people scratching their heads, but it turned out in the wee hours of Sunday morning he became a father for the second time.

Brouillette and his wife Brittany Knapp welcomed Calvin Beau to the world at 3:02 a.m.

Little Calvin was supposed to be born in Montreal, where Brouillette and Knapp call home, but he had other plans.

With her Nov. 21 due date nearing, Knapp had been given the go-ahead from her doctor to travel to visit Brouillette while the Riders were in Ottawa. The couple had just sat down for dinner Saturday night when the contractions started.

“We thought about driving back to Montreal, she wanted to drive back … and then the time it took to get from the restaurant to the hotel to pick up the bags she said ‘no, no we need to stay here in Ottawa.’”

On Instagram that night, Brouillette posted a picture of his wife in her hospital bed giving him the double middle fingers with the caption “You did this to me.”

It was still early in the night then, and Brouillette thought he may still get to play in Sunday’s game, but as the night went on and some complications arose, he opted to stay.

Knapp developed a fever and Calvin had a small infection that had him in special care for a few days, but both of them were discharged from the hospital on Tuesday and are happy and healthy.

“She’s doing great now. Mom and baby are back at home, I set them up back in Montreal last night and got back to Ottawa late (Wednesday) morning.”

Brouillette said his teammates have been very supportive over the last few days and he’s received plenty of congratulation messages and well wishes.

And while skipping the game for the birth of his first son was a no-brainer for Brouillette, he’ll make sure little Calvin knows what his dad had to miss.

“It was poor timing on his part,” Brouillette laughed. “And I’ll make sure to remind him when he’s old enough to understand.”