From NFL history to exile: The fall and deportation of Daniel Adongo

Before and after photos of former rugby player Daniel Adongo [File]

In December 2013, Daniel Adongo accomplished what no Kenyan had ever done before. Standing at 6-foot-5 and weighing over 250 pounds, the former professional rugby star strode onto an American football field wearing the navy and white of the Indianapolis Colts. He was a symbol of raw athletic talent and international potential. He was seen as a trailblazer who jumped straight from southern-hemisphere rugby into the high-stakes world of the National Football League without ever having played a single down of American football.

13 years later, that triumph ended in disaster. On June 20, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents removed 37-year-old Adongo from the United States, placing him on a flight back to Nairobi following a decade-long downward spiral marked by mental illness, legal troubles, and homelessness.

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

Born in Nairobi, Adongo was a gifted athlete whose physique and power made him a standout. He rose through the ranks in South Africa, playing for elite sides such as the Sharks, Bulls and the Eastern Province Kings, before moving to New Zealand to join Counties Manukau.

In 2013, scouts from the Indianapolis Colts spotted Adongo's raw athleticism. His transition to American football was hailed as an extraordinary experiment. When he made his NFL regular-season debut, he became the first Kenyan to play in the league, featuring in five games over two seasons primarily on special teams.

Turning point

The momentum of Adongo’s American dream ground to a sudden halt in late 2015. Police were called to his Indianapolis home following reports of a domestic dispute involving a woman residing with him. Though Adongo was not arrested at the scene and denied wrongdoing, the Colts waived him shortly after. At this point, his NFL career was over.

Adongo’s visa then expired in 2016, but instead of returning home, he remained in the United States undocumented, sliding into increasing isolation.

In August 2020, public concern erupted after viral videos on social media showed a drastically transformed Adongo. The former elite athlete appeared unkempt, distressed, heavily pierced, and speaking incoherently about bizarre spiritual beliefs. The footage shocked his followers across the country and the global sports community, sparking conversations about athletes’ mental health plus the post-career abandonment of contact-sports players.

Behind the arrests and public alarm was a serious mental health crisis. Over the years, Adongo was arrested several times in Indiana on allegations ranging from felony intimidation and battery to disorderly conduct. While most of those charges were ultimately dismissed by courts, he was convicted of misdemeanour criminal mischief in 2020 following property damage, serving six months in county jail.

His defence attorneys and medical professionals stressed his legal troubles were symptoms of deep-seated neurological and psychiatric trauma. According to a psychiatric assessment in 2017, court documents cited by the Indianapolis Star revealed a judge declared Adongo legally incompetent following an evaluation, leading to his temporary commitment to a psychiatric facility.

In 2020, medical records from St. Joseph Regional Medical Centre detailed by evaluators showed Adongo was diagnosed as ‘acutely psychotic with traumatic brain injury (TBI)’. Social workers and medical examiners treating him also noted he likely suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain condition linked to repeated head impacts. His family also believed that the drastic changes in his behaviour and mental stability stemmed directly from head injuries sustained during his years in high-impact contact sports.

Family members, including his father, Joseph Adongo, periodically sought to intervene from afar, attempting to navigate foreign legal and medical systems to get Daniel help.

"The process to resolve the difficulties our beloved son is going through is underway. Understandably, such a situation can befall any young person,” said the father back in August 2020. However, without a strong, continuous support network on the ground, Adongo continued to slip through the cracks of the healthcare and legal systems.

Detention

Adongo's decade-long stay in America came to a head when federal authorities detained him under the Laken Riley Act, a federal statute mandating the detention without bond of non-citizens convicted of qualifying crimes. He was held at the Miami Correctional Facility in Indiana while immigration proceedings moved forward. On March 23, a Department of Justice immigration judge ordered his removal, leading to his formal deportation on June 20.

While U.S. law enforcement viewed Adongo’s removal through the strict lens of public safety and immigration compliance, back home, his return is viewed with different emotions.

UTILITIES: Daniel Adongo's journey at a glance

• 2013: Recruited from rugby, signed by Indianapolis Colts (First Kenyan in NFL)
• 2015: Released by Colts following domestic incident investigations
• 2016: Visa expired, remained undocumented in the United States
• 2017: Declared legally incompetent, committed to a psychiatric facility
• 2020: Viral videos reveal distressing state, convicted of misdemeanour criminal mischief
• June 2026: Deported to Kenya after detention under federal immigration laws