Former Kenyan rugby player deported from US after immigration order
Reading Time: 3min | Sun. 26.07.26. | 07:31
Adongo, 37, became the first Kenyan to play in the National Football League (NFL) after signing with the Indianapolis Colts in 2013,
Former Kenyan rugby international and ex-NFL linebacker Daniel Adongo has been deported from the United States after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed him following a series of legal troubles and an immigration ruling.
Adongo, 37, who became the first Kenyan to play in the National Football League (NFL) after signing with the Indianapolis Colts in 2013, was removed from the US on June 20, 2026, after a Department of Justice immigration judge ordered his deportation in March.
According to ICE, Adongo had overstayed his visa in 2016 after his NFL career came to an end the previous year. Authorities said he had also been arrested several times over the past decade on charges that included felony intimidation, battery and disorderly conduct.
His only conviction came in 2020 when he pleaded guilty to criminal mischief involving property damage. He was sentenced to 364 days in jail, although he served six months before his release.
ICE said Adongo's latest immigration detention fell under the Laken Riley Act, a US law signed by President Donald Trump in January 2025 that requires illegal immigrants accused or convicted of certain offences to be detained without bond while awaiting immigration proceedings.
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"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 a statement.
"Those who violate immigration law are held equally accountable, including former professional athletes."
Adongo's remarkable rise to the NFL began after he was spotted while playing rugby in South Africa. Despite having little knowledge of American football, his athleticism earned him a contract with the Indianapolis Colts in 2013.
Standing 6ft 5in and weighing around 250 pounds, Adongo played five regular-season games for the Colts between 2013 and 2015 before injuries and off-field issues brought his NFL career to an abrupt end.
His legal problems began shortly after leaving the league. In 2017, he was arrested for allegedly threatening an Uber driver with a hatchet, leading an Indiana court to order a psychiatric evaluation after concerns were raised over his mental fitness to stand trial.
Court records later indicated that Adongo had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and required treatment to restore his competency before legal proceedings could continue.
In subsequent years, he faced additional charges, including battery, intimidation and disorderly conduct, although several of those cases were eventually dismissed.
His lawyers and mental health professionals repeatedly argued that Adongo suffered from serious mental illness, while a crisis intervention social worker also suggested he could have Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. However, CTE can only be definitively diagnosed after death.
Adongo's final arrest came in July 2025 following an incident involving a police officer in Indiana. Although those charges were later dismissed, he remained in ICE custody pending the outcome of his immigration case before being deported to Kenya.
His deportation brings to a close a dramatic chapter for one of Kenya's most unique sporting exports, whose journey from rugby fields to the NFL was once celebrated as a trailblazing achievement.