Former NFL linebacker Daniel Adongo has been deported to Kenya by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the agency said.
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Adongo, 37, played two seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, but overstayed his visa, which expired in 2016, one year after his NFL career ended, according to US Authorities.
Adongo, a former Rugby star, made headlines in 2013 when he transitioned to the NFL despite having never played football. He became the first Kenyan-born NFL player.
The Indianapolis Star reported that court records showed Adongo had run-ins with the law during and after his time with the Colts.
ICE said Adongo was convicted of criminal mischief with damage in 2020 and sentenced to 364 days in jail. He was ultimately ordered to serve six months in county jail for the misdemeanor.
The agency said he also faced charges — including felony intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct — that did not result in a conviction. All charges were dismissed according to court records.
ICE Deports 'Dangerous' Ex-NFL Player to Kenya
ICE described Adongo as a "dangerous individual" in a statement on Saturday. He was deported back to Kenya on June 20.
"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 the statement. "Those who violate immigration law are held equally accountable. Including former professional athletes."
He moved to the US for the first time in 2013 after signing with the Colts. He played limited snaps in five games, mainly as an outside linebacker, in the two seasons he played for the team.
Before he transitioned to football, Adongo played rugby professionally in South Africa and New Zealand.
Adongo's lawyers and family believe that he suffered brain damage from his playing days.
His defense attorney cited a 2020 report in which a doctor who examined Adongo at the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center described him as "acutely psychotic with traumatic brain injury."
A mental health social worker who treated Adongo for years wrote that he suffered from an "undisclosed mental illness which is highly speculated to be Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE," the Star reported.
CTE is a brain condition caused by repeated head injuries and collisions. Roughly one-third of NFL players believe they have the disease, according to a 2024 survey.
