When football players step away from the game, life after football can be challenging for some. The sport may have been players’ entire lives up until they retire.
Gado, now Dr. Samkon Gado, was an unexpected star of an otherwise dismal 2005 season for the Green Bay Packers. Even then however, his passion was in the medical field as he worked at Bellin Hospital in Green Bay. Up until his career ended in 2010, Gado continued to work in the field during the off-season.
He set his sights on returning to his home country of Nigeria full-time once his residency ended (of which he did spend a small part back home), but the COVID-19 pandemic has, like in most aspects of all our lives, changed everything.