First Kenyan-born NFL player deported, ICE says - NBC News

What the report says

NBC News reported that Daniel Ogama Adongo, a former Indianapolis Colts linebacker and the first Kenyan-born player to appear in the NFL, was deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last month. ICE said Saturday that Adongo, 37, was removed from the United States on June 20 after overstaying a visa in 2016, one year after his NFL career ended. An immigration judge had ordered him removed in late March.

Adongo, who had previously played rugby, signed with the Colts in 2013. NBC reported that it could not reach Adongo or determine his current legal representatives, and that attorneys who had represented him earlier did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ICE cited both immigration violations and a record of arrests in announcing the removal.

According to NBC, ICE said Adongo had a 2020 misdemeanor conviction for criminal mischief with damage and had been sentenced to 364 days, though court records indicated he ultimately served six months in county jail with credit for time served. The agency also referenced other charges, including felony intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct, that court records show were dismissed. ICE said his most recent charges brought him under the Laken Riley Act, a law requiring detention of undocumented immigrants arrested for or charged with certain property crimes, though NBC reported the agency did not specify which charges it meant.

The case also raises questions about mental health and head injuries. Citing the Indianapolis Star, NBC reported that Adongo’s lawyers had linked his arrests to mental illness and possible traumatic brain injury from football and rugby. NBC noted that CTE can only be diagnosed after death, and said the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately answer questions about those concerns.