On Sunday, Donald De La Haye, popularly known as YouTuber Deestroying, made his United Football League debut as a kicker for the San Antonio Brahmas.
Deestroying made the UFL’s San Antonio Brahmas roster and is playing today.
"I'm a real football player! Let's go!"
This is a pretty cool story.pic.twitter.com/0fL1Vr6ehO
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 31, 2024
He shared his excitement on the ESPN broadcast with a smile, he said,
“I’m a real football player! Let’s go!”
Deestroying kicked the ball off for the team with just over nine minutes to go in the first quarter of action vs. the DC Defenders.
De La Haye, known by his YouTube name of “Deestroying,” was also once a kickoff specialist and part-time receiver for the UCF Knights. He had played college football at UCF but was kicked off the team after the NCAA barred him from profiting from his YouTube channel.
An ex-college football player who now has 5.82 million subscribers, he signed to play in the newly-formed UFL in February. “Deestroying” had earned a roster spot for the Brahmas after beating out former Houston Texans kicker Matt Ammendola earlier in March.
Sharing his feelings on the moments after he was offered a contract with the Brahmas, he said,
“I could cry right now, bro. This whole entire time, I was trying to figure out what my options are. Maybe I have some eligibility left to go back to college. I might get an NFL tryout. Maybe I have to go to USFL, maybe I have to go play in Europe. Do something. And literally, at this moment, it all just became clear.”
Even though he had never played in the NFL, he did sign with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, where he appeared in two preseason games in 2019. He never appeared in a regular-season game for the team.
