FORMER ARGOS Obed Cotoute (left) and Toronto Police Sgt. Lhawang Jongdong, of the Community Response Unit. Photo by Tom Godfrey.
Former Toronto Argonauts wide receiver Obed Cetoute was one of many volunteers helping Toronto Police, the TTC and Toys R Us Stuff the Bus with toys for the needy.
Cetoute, 37, played for the Argos from 2007 to 2009 before he was traded to the Saskatchewan Rough Riders.
“I look forward to giving back to the community,” Cetoute says during a December 13 toy drive. “It is something that we always did when I was with the Argos.”
The footballer lives in The Queensway and Kipling Ave. area and has been working for the last six years as a bus driver with the TTC.
He was a driver of the Stuff the Bus that was filled with toys, food and other items in hours.
“I love Etobicoke,” Cetoute vows. “This is a nice area and I have been living here for seven years.”
He loves the people who have welcomed him into the community.
The Montreal-born player was drafted in the fourth round with the 31st pick in the 2006 Canadian Football League (CFL) Draft by the Argonauts and signed with the team in May 2007.
Cetoute was a quick wide receiver, who played under CFL star turned coach Pinball Clemons, for two years.
“I totally enjoyed playing with Pinball when he was coach,” he insists. “He was a great guy.”
At one point Cetoute was sent to a football camp in South Carolina for three weeks to train with high-performance players to help elevate his training and game.
He was traded to the Roughriders in June 2010 for Offensive Lineman Jonathan St. Pierre. He was released by the team in August 2011.
The athlete had missed most of the 2009 season due to injury.
The six-foot-two, 213-pounder played in 24 games and tallied 31 receptions for 461 yards and three touchdowns for the Argos.
The athlete played college football at Central Michigan and before that at Vanier College for the Cheetahs.
He was part of a Toronto Argos Stop the Violence Huddle Up Program in which he spoke about bullying to elementary schools and high schools throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
Cetoute was also part of the team’s mentorship program for young people.