The Kansas City Chiefs have signed a free agent with an amazing backstory. Efe Obada did not play college football. Instead his experience is in the British American Football Association. He was also a warehouse worker playing in that league before he tried out for the Cowboys before their game against the Jaguars in London. The Cowboys signed him, cut him and now here we are. Obada is now a defensive end for the Chiefs. Or a tight end. One of the two.
We have a Brit on the roster. Welcome to the Kingdom Efe Obada. #KingdomsUnite #ArrowheadsAbroad pic.twitter.com/00YgZAH2JU
— Arrowheads Abroad (@KCChiefs_UK) March 10, 2016
This NFL UK report on his background is amazing:
Obada has certainly endured a long and often-dangerous path to the NFL that saw him living homeless in London, being shipped from one family to another by social services throughout his teenage years and becoming embroiled in the capital's gang culture.
Obada was trafficked to the UK by a friend of his mother's in 2002. But within hours of arriving in London from the Netherlands, the 10-year-old and his 11-year-old sister were abandoned on the freezing and dark streets of Hackney.
"This lady just left us out on the streets," Obada explained. "It was scary and we were lonely. We went to a tower block building and there was a security guard there. We explained our situation and he let us sleep in the foyer of the flats. We spent two or three nights sleeping in the foyer of that building and we only had our jackets to keep us warm. It was freezing."
Our friends at Arrowheads Abroad say:
@ArrowheadPride Warriors are the top team here. 3 times Champs, however the standard of the English game isn't great. Must have stood out
— Arrowheads Abroad (@KCChiefs_UK) March 10, 2016
This could just be an offseason thing for Obada but it's a neat story. I hope it works out.