ICE deports history-making former NFL player from US who quit rugby to pursue dream

Former NFL linebacker Daniel Ogama Adongo has been deported from the United States.

According to reports, the 37-year-old was removed from the country on June 20, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) citing that he had overstayed a visa in 2016.

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It comes just a year after his NFL career with the Indianapolis Colts ended.

According to court records obtained by The Indianapolis Star, Adongo had run-ins with the law both during, and after, his time in the Colts.

At times, he was reportedly found incompetent to stand trial, with his attorney claiming that there was a possibility that he had sustaining a traumatic brain injury during his sporting career.

ICE stated that he Adongo had been convicted of criminal mischief with damage, a misdemeanor, in 2020 and sentenced to 364 days in jail.

He reportedly also faced charges for other things, including battery, disorderly conduct, and felony intimidation, although all of those charges were dismissed.

His most-recent charges, have been unspecified by ICE have fallen under the Laken Riley Act – and come under convictions of “burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.”

“This dangerous individual was clearly a threat to the community, which is now safer since he’s been removed,” ICE Chicago Assistant Field Office Director Douglas Thompson said in a statement.

“Those who violate immigration law are held equally accountable, including former professional athletes.”

Far removed from the ‘Kenyan Hercules’

Adongo was the first player to represent Kenya in the NFL, having opted to make the switch from playing professional rugby union, following a season with the South Kings of Super Rugby.

Despite having never played a snap of football, the Colts took a gamble on Adongo, who was once hailed as the ‘Kenyan Hercules’ by Forbes Africa.

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Before making history in the NFL, Adongo was breaking barriers in New Zealand after having already established himself in South Africa playing rugby – a move which, although out of his comfort zone, he felt would be integral to his career as a professional athlete.

“I had established myself in South Africa, but I wanted a change of pace. The decision to move from playing rugby in South Africa to playing in New Zealand was a tough one.” he said back in 2015.

“I had to prove to myself that I can excel and excel at the highest level.”

His move to the Colts came about as a result of his then-manager Johnny Gbenda-Charles contacting them.

“The Colts were looking for professional athletes from other sporting backgrounds who could transfer their skills to American football,” Adongo said.

“Rugby and American football are night and day in terms of technical aspects of the game, even though both sports use extreme levels of physical aggression.

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“American football is much more of a contact sport between the two. It was crazy at first, but I was determined to master the game.”

His move was one which then-Colts punter turned media personality Pat McAfee thought would pay off tenfold for Indianapolis.

“I think you’re gonna be a Hoosier and a Colt for a long time,” McAfee told Adongo during an appearance on his titular The Pat McAfee Show back in 2013.

Adongo would go on to suit up just five times for the Colts, playing just one defensive snap, and 100 snaps on special teams, in which he had one kick return.

The last decade, though, has been hugely challenging for the former athlete, having also dealt with mental health challenges and psychiatric hospitalizations.

According to the Star, a mental health social worker who had treated Adongo for years was of the belief that he has been suffering with an “undisclosed mental illness which is highly speculated to be Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE.”

CTE is very common among former NFL players, with the condition caused by repeated blows to the head, usually sustained over many years.

However, it is also a condition that is unable to be diagnosed until an autopsy.