Drew Wolitarsky recalls breaking six ribs in last game with Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Photo courtesy: Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Drew Wolitarsky was a gritty receiver throughout his eight seasons in the Canadian Football League, the first seven of which were spent with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In 2024, his final year with the team, he played through broken ribs multiple times.

“I broke (some ribs) in Toronto in (late July) and I tried to come back after halftime,” Wolitarsky told the media on Thursday from a vacation in Europe. “I remember I was in a play and I saw Zach (Collaros) gearing up to throw to me. I remember my mind being like, ‘If he throws me, I’m actually going to die right now.’ He didn’t throw to me, thank God. I came on the sideline and I was like, ‘Yo, I’m done, I can’t do that.'”

The 30-year-old returned for the Labour Day Classic five weeks later, a game in which he always felt he played well. He caught four passes for 48 yards, two of which generated first downs on drives that ended in touchdowns. The Blue Bombers won the rivalry game by a score of 35-33 and for a short time, Wolitarsky was back and feeling good.

The following week in the Banjo Bowl, however, disaster struck. Wolitarsky caught a 12-yard pass for a first down before halftime and Adam Auclair delivered a punishing blow, the first of two that essentially ended his career.

“First hit — boom! — right to my ribs,” said Wolitarsky. “I feel my guts move and I’m like, ‘Oh God.'” The veteran receiver left the field momentarily but decided to eventually return.

“(In the third quarter), I catch a ball and dive for the first down because I’m not trying to get hit. I’m inches short. (We go for it on) third-and-one and we get it but (head coach Mike O’Shea) is like, ‘You gotta get north, man. We need the first downs, you gotta keep getting north.’ I’m like, ‘Ah, f–k, all right, here we go.'”

Midway through the fourth quarter with the Blue Bombers leading by a score of 23-21, Wolitarsky caught a nine-yard pass on first down and was tackled by Deontai Williams, who has garnered a reputation for being one of the CFL’s hardest hitters. It was devastating.

“I just feel the (defender) come from the left side and (he hits me) right in the ribs,” said Wolitarsky. “At that point, I just felt like numbness in my entire body. I’m buckling, can’t breathe. I’m just on the ground, like, ‘Oh, they’re definitely broken again.'”

The six-foot-one, 225-pound receiver was initially hopeful he’d only re-broken the same ribs. Instead, after undergoing x-rays, a doctor informed him he had six rib fractures and recommended he not play again that year. Wolitarsky wasn’t hard to persuade.

“That is the most pain I’ve ever been in,” he said. “I was just like, ‘Yeah, I’m feeling that (is the correct decision), too, I’m gonna come back next year fresh,’ but it never happened, so that’s it, brother — that’s how it goes.”

After being released by Winnipeg last offseason, Wolitarsky signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats mostly due to his connection with Ted Goveia. The native of Burlington, Ont. had spent the past decade as an assistant general manager with the Blue Bombers before being hired as the general manager in Hamilton that same offseason.

“If it weren’t for Ted, I probably would have just been done at that point, but Ted was very excited. He called me the next day (after I was cut), like, ‘Dude, I want you here in Hamilton, you’re gonna be my first signing as a GM.’ I was like, ‘Dude, I’m excited by that, I love Ted, he’s been my guy in Winnipeg for all these years, I’m gonna do this for Ted and for my family, I think this could be exciting.'”

When training camp finished, Goveia called Wolitarsky into his office. The veteran receiver feared that he was about to get released. What ended up happening was far worse.

“I’m stressing out. I’m sitting there … and (Goveia’s) like, ‘I’m not gonna cut you,’ just straight off the bat. I was like, ‘Oh my God, Ted, like, I’m stressing, bro. What’s going on?’ He just goes quiet for a second, and then he goes, ‘Drew, I’m dying.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ He’s like, ‘I’m dying. Stage four gastro cancer,’ and from that moment on, that was just kind of how the year was. It was just bad news after bad news after bad news.”

Wolitarsky ended up playing only two regular-season games for the Tiger-Cats during what he called the hardest year of his career. He suffered at least two “stupid little” injuries and was forced to reckon with Goveia’s illness, which ended up taking his life in September.

The gregarious guitarist isn’t sure what’s next for him now that he’s retired. He’s seeking advice from several former teammates, including Justin Medlock, Weston Dressler, Matt Nichols, and Chris Streveler, about what to pursue. Right now, he knows three things: he wants his family to live somewhere “where nature is a priority,” he wants to work with people, and he never wants to work a desk job.

Though he was born and raised in Santa Clarita, Calif., Wolitarsky qualified for Canadian citizenship through his mother, who was born in Montreal. He and his wife, who is also originally from California, are currently figuring where they’d like to make their permanent home. Though they’re considering Boise, Idaho and Bend, Oregon, it also seems like they might choose to stay in Canada for what appear to be political reasons.

“My wife and I are like, ‘Do we even want to go back to the U.S.?’ And we’re like, ‘I don’t think we do.’ I don’t know, we’ll see — so much has changed with both countries since (my CFL career started in) 2017. I don’t know, like as a person with a family and for safety and all these things, there’s something very attractive about Canada,” said Wolitarsky.

“I’m in Europe (on vacation) and a lot of people I talk to from Italy, France, Poland, and all these Slavic countries are like, ‘Oh, we dream of living in Canada.’ It gives you a little appreciation because most of you (members of the media) are born in Canada and you’re probably sick of Canada a little bit sometimes, but there’s people in the world really trying to get to Canada as their final destination — like, that’s their dream place to live. It’s eye-opening and it makes you more appreciative, for sure.”