Donald De La Haye, viral kicker known as 'Deestroying,' fractures neck in UFL game
The football comeback of Donald De La Haye, better known as internet star "Deestroying," suffered a setback after the kicker said he suffered a fractured neck in his second game in the UFL.
The San Antonio Brahmas kicker handled kickoff duties against the Memphis Showboats on Saturday, and one of the kickoffs, he went down the field and made the tackle. A mic'd up teammate told him it was good form on the, but the former UCF kicker disagreed.
On social media, De La Haye posted afterward said "don't be like me kids, learn how to tackle (with) proper form." On his Instagram story on Tuesday, he posted a picture of himself with a neck brace and said he fractured his neck.
"Turns out on that tackle, due to bad form, I fractured my neck in a couple places," he said. "Although this sucks, I'm grateful cause it could have been allll bad."
Donald De La Haye career
The injury is a tough blow for the kicker trying to get into the professional rank after a viral college career. De La Laye was a kicker for Central Florida from 2016-17, and during this time, became an internet sensation for his YouTube videos. However, the issue was De La Haye was making money off his YouTube videos in a time where NIL deals weren't allowed yet. The NCAA ruled he had to stop in order to stay on the roster.
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After discussions about De La Haye's eligibility, the NCAA decided De La Haye could continue to profit of his videos as long as they were "non-athletic" videos. De La Haye didn't want to comply and UCF ruled him ineligible, thus ending his college football career.
De La Haye would continue to make kicking videos on social media while continuing to advocate for himself to sign with a professional football team, including the NFL. He got his first professional football job with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 2019. He would only appear in two preseason games for the Argonauts.
He wouldn't get another professional football opportunity until the San Antonio Brahmas signed him in January. He had only done kickoffs for the team in his two games.
De La Haye's season is likely over as he was moved to the injured reserve list.
"Thank you Brahmas and UFL for giving me this opportunity, it has been a blast," he added on Instagram. "And thank all yall for supporting me on this journey."