A former Indianapolis Colts linebacker from Kenya was deported by ICE last month, the agency said in a statement Saturday, citing an overstayed visa and a history of arrests. Daniel Ogama Adongo, 37, was removed from the country on June 20 after ICE said he overstayed a visa in 2016, the year after his NFL career ended.
Background
Adongo, a former rugby player, became the first Kenyan to play in the NFL after the Colts signed him in 2013. However, he had run-ins with the law during and after his time with the Colts and was at times found incompetent to stand trial. His attorney and others have raised the possibility that he sustained a traumatic brain injury during his football and rugby careers.
ICE said Adongo was convicted of criminal mischief with damage, a misdemeanor, in 2020 and sentenced to 364 days in jail; court records show that, with credit for time served, he was ultimately ordered to serve six months in county jail. The agency said he also faced charges — including felony intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct — that did not result in conviction.
Reaction
ICE Chicago Assistant Field Office Director Douglas Thompson said in the statement, ‘This dangerous individual was clearly a threat to the community, which is now safer since he’s been removed.’ Adongo’s lawyers had previously attributed his arrests to mental illness, according to the Indianapolis Star.
Original reporting: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.
