On July 25, ICE confirmed it had deported Daniel Ogama Adongo, 36, the first Kenyan-born player in NFL history, from the United States. Immigration agents removed Adongo on June 20, after a Department of Justice immigration judge ordered his deportation on March 23. He had been at the Miami Correctional Facility while in detention.

However, while ICE’s statement called him a “criminal illegal alien” and a “dangerous individual,” court records reviewed by NBC News and the Indianapolis Star draw a different picture.

A Career Built Across Three Continents

Daniel Ojambo Adongo grew up in Nairobi, where he played for the Kenya Harlequins junior team. South African scouts spotted him at the 2006 Safari Sevens tournament, and he joined the Sharks rugby academy in Durban at 17 in 2007. Over the next six years, he played professional rugby union across South Africa and New Zealand, representing the Sharks and Blue Bulls in South Africa and Counties Manukau in New Zealand’s ITM Cup, among other clubs. In 2013, he joined the Southern Kings for the Super Rugby season. But a torn biceps injury cut that season short.

Three months later, on July 25, 2013, the Indianapolis Colts signed him as an outside linebacker. At that time, Adongo was 23 and had never watched a football game.

The Colts spent a full season teaching him the sport on the practice field. Then, he appeared in two games in 2013, recording no tackles. In August 2014, he suffered a bicep injury during a pre-season game and was waived with an injury designation, reverting to injured reserve.

Two years later, Daniel Adongo returned. Colts waived him, signed him to the practice squad, and elevated him to the active roster in November. In December 2015, the Colts released him after law enforcement received at least two reports of possible domestic violence. No charges were filed in either case, per USA Today. Up until this point, he had appeared in five games total, played one defensive snap, and earned roughly $694,000.

The League Has Always Been Built on Players Like Him

Daniel Adongo made history as the first Kenyan to play in the NFL. However, he is not the only NFL player born outside the United States.

Jordan Mailata, a Super Bowl champion with the Philadelphia Eagles, was born in Bankstown, Australia, and also came from professional rugby. Similarly, Penei Sewell of the Detroit Lions was born in American Samoa. Cairo Santos of the Chicago Bears, born in São Paulo, was the first Brazil-born player in NFL history. Jevon Holland of the Miami Dolphins was born in British Columbia. And Daniel Faalele of the Baltimore Ravens was born in Melbourne.

For all of them, the sport became a career. His family and lawyers say that for Adongo, it may also have become a cause. During those years, he sustained injuries on those fields, which might have led to a mental illness.

A Brain Injured on the Field

Twice, judges found Daniel Adongo incompetent to stand trial. In 2017, following a psychiatric examination, a judge ordered him to a psychiatric hospital. A doctor who examined him at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center described him as “acutely psychotic with traumatic brain injury,” per the Indianapolis Star.

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,” according to the Star. CTE is a brain condition caused by repeated head injuries, one of the known risks of contact sports. However, an autopsy is the only way to confirm the condition. And what many might not know is that roughly one in three former NFL players believe they have the disease, according to a 2024 survey cited by NBC News. Even the NFL acknowledged the link between CTE and football in 2016.

For her part, Adongo’s mother, Betty Adongo, asked the court to release her son for medical evaluation. His family and lawyers said his mental illness stems from injuries he sustained as a professional athlete. Unfortunately, the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions about his mental state or possible brain injury, and Adongo has made no public statement.

ICE Called Daniel Adongo Dangerous

ICE said Daniel Adongo had been arrested multiple times over the past nine years for crimes including felony intimidation, battery, and disorderly conduct. The agency said his most recent charges fell under the Laken Riley Act, signed into law by President Trump on January 29, 2025.

The act requires the detention without bond of undocumented immigrants arrested on suspicion of, charged with, or convicted of certain crimes, including theft and violent offenses. The law was named after Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student murdered in 2024 by a Venezuelan man who had previously been cited for shoplifting.

Critics of the act have argued it strips due process from immigrants accused but not convicted of those crimes, per NBC News. ICE did not specify which of Adongo’s charges fell under the statute.

“This dangerous individual was clearly a threat to the community, which is now safer since he’s been removed,” said ICE Chicago Assistant Field Office Director Douglas Thompson. “Those who violate immigration law are held equally accountable, including former professional athletes.”

Where He Is Now, No One Will Say

In the end, Adongo’s arrests ICE cited for felony intimidation, battery, and disorderly conduct did not result in a conviction. Court records reviewed by NBC News show those charges were all dismissed.

Adongo’s only conviction was a Class A misdemeanor for criminal mischief with damage in 2020. His sentence was 364 days in jail. With credit for time served, he ultimately served six months in county jail.

Today, ICE has not confirmed which country they deported Adongo to, though he is Kenyan-born. His current legal representatives have not made any statements. And Adongo now joins more than 40 Kenyans whom ICE has arrested.

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