Former Indianapolis Colts Linebacker Deported After Decade of Crime and Visa Overstay

From the NFL to Deportation

Daniel Ogama Adongo made history when he became the first Kenyan to play in the NFL after the Indianapolis Colts signed him in 2013. It was a remarkable story — a rugby star from Kenya crossing over into America's most popular sport. But that story ended very differently than most would have imagined. 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.

Adongo was a linebacker and special teams player for the Indianapolis Colts but was released from the team after an apparent domestic violence incident in 2015. He had come to the U.S. after being recruited as a rugby player, relocating from New Zealand where he had played with a rugby club. In what was called an "experiment," the Colts signed the Kenyan rugby player at the age of 23 in 2013, believing he might transition into an NFL asset. The experiment lasted just two seasons.

A Decade of Run-Ins With the Law

His visa expired the following year after his release — and he simply never left. What followed was nearly a decade of run-ins with Indiana police. Adongo was arrested multiple times by Indiana law enforcement over the past nine years for crimes including felony intimidation, battery, and disorderly conduct. Many of the charges were later dismissed in court.

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 Indianapolis Star reported that court records showed Adongo 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.

The Laken Riley Act Seals His Fate

His most recent criminal charges fall under the Laken Riley Act, a federal statute that requires the detention, without bond, of illegal aliens for certain crimes. The bill was introduced following the murder of Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant who had previously been cited for shoplifting on the University of Georgia campus in Athens, Georgia. President Trump signed the bill into law on January 29, 2025.

In March, an immigration judge issued an order for his deportation. That order was executed on June 20. ICE Chicago wasted no time making the case a public example. ICE Chicago Assistant Field Office Director Douglas Thompson said in a statement, "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."

A Broader Immigration Enforcement Push

In June, ICE's arrest and deportation effort reportedly reached a new high, with more than 43,000 arrested and booked into detention that month and a total of more than 65,000 in custody nationwide. ICE has maintained that 70 percent of those arrested are illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in addition to violating federal immigration law. The Adongo case fits squarely into that pattern — and federal authorities clearly wanted the public to know it.

The case raises uncomfortable questions that won't go away easily. A man who made history as a trailblazer for Kenyan athletes on the world's biggest football stage spent the years after his career accumulating a criminal record while remaining in the country illegally. Attorneys who previously represented Adongo did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and NBC News was unable to contact Adongo or determine his current legal representatives. Whether the lingering questions about his mental fitness and possible traumatic brain injury will factor into any future legal proceedings remains to be seen — but for now, his time in the United States is over.