Robert Lee Sippio Jr. (born December 4, 1980) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He was signed by the

Peoria Pirates The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in AF2, the minor league to the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached ...

in 2002. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers are the athletic teams that represent Western Kentucky University (WKU), located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, competing in the ...

. During Sippio's professional career, he played for thirteen different teams in four different leagues, including the NFL's

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

College career

Sippio played

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

for three seasons. He attended Osceola High School in

Kissimmee Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

where he played

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. He played

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

along with former NFL player Brett Williams.

Professional career

af2

Sippio began playing professional football in 2002 with the

af2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football r ...

and then the

Greensboro Prowlers The Greensboro Prowlers were a professional arena football team based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Prowlers competed in the AF2 The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental ...

, before signing with the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

Dallas Desperados

Sippio played in 15 games as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

with the

Dallas Desperados The Dallas Desperados were a professional arena football team based in Dallas, Texas. They played in the Eastern Division of the Arena Football League from to . The franchise began as an expansion team and posted a winning record in all but o ...

, recording 75 receptions for 1,217 yards and 32 touchdowns, and recording 25.0 tackles, two interceptions and three passes broken up. He made his Arena Football League debut February 8 vs. the

Carolina Cobras The Carolina Cobras were an expansion franchise in the Arena Football League. The team was formed prior to the 2000 season, which endured a player strike. The team was originally based in Raleigh, North Carolina, but moved to Charlotte followin ...

, catching four passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He was named co-Offensive Player of the Game March 6 against the

Grand Rapids Rampage The Grand Rapids Rampage was an arena football team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team began play in 1998 in the Arena Football League as an expansion team. They were last coached by Steve Thonn. Their home arena was the Van Andel Arena ...

after catching 6 passes for 116 yards and three touchdowns. Sippio played in 16 games in his second season with Dallas, recording 61 receptions for 863 yards and 22 touchdowns and added 30.5 tackles, two interceptions and nine passes broken up. He scored touchdowns in five different ways during the season, receiving, rushing, interception return, fumble return and kickoff return.

Tampa Bay Storm

Sippio played in nine games for the

Tampa Bay Storm The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The ...

, recording 55 receptions for 666 yards and 18 touchdowns, before being released March 28 and claimed by the

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. The team was founded in 2001 and played in the Arena Football League's Central Division. The Rush qualified for the playoffs in 11 of 12 AFL seasons, during w ...

on March 29.

Chicago Rush

After signing with Chicago, Sippio changed positions from WR/DB to OS. He finished the 2006 season with 93 receptions for 1,320 yards and 35 touchdowns. He recorded a season high 10 receptions for 136 yards and two touchdowns against the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played it ...

on February 19. He also led the league with 53 touchdowns.

Kansas City Chiefs

After the

2007 Arena Football League season The 2007 Arena Football League season was the 21st season of the Arena Football League. The regular season began play on March 1, 2007 and concluded on June 25. The league broke its regular-season total attendance record of 1,887,054. Followin ...

, Sippio signed with the Kansas City Chiefs on August 12, 2007. His signing appeared on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

's '' Hard Knocks'', a program showcasing NFL training camps. On September 1, 2007, the Chiefs made their final cuts to 53, and Sippio made the final roster. However, he was released on September 2 to make room for

Tyler Thigpen Tyler Beckham Thigpen (born April 14, 1984) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback. Thigpen was selected out of Coastal Carolina University by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL draft. ...

. The following day, Sippio was added to the Chiefs

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. He was signed to the active roster on September 11, 2007, to replace

Eddie Kennison Eddie Joseph Kennison, III (born January 20, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers and was selected by the St. Louis ...

who suffered a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury. Sippio was released by the Chiefs on August 30, 2008.

Chicago Slaughter

On May 13, 2009, due to the injury of leading wide receiver Donovan Morgan, the

Chicago Slaughter The Chicago Slaughter were an American professional football team based in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Having been inactive since 2013, the franchise was a part of the CIFL from 2007 to 2009, winning the championship in 2009. The Slaughter joine ...

of the

Continental Indoor Football League The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor American football, indoor American football, football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as ...

signed Sippio. The

halted operations for the 2009 season, preventing Sippio from re-signing with the Rush or any other AFL team.

California Redwoods

Sippio signed with the

California Redwoods ''Sequoia sempervirens'' ()''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995: 606–607 is the sole living species of the genus '' Sequoia'' in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, coastal ...

of the United Football League in 2009, but was released in August so he could sign with the

Detroit Lions

Sippio was signed by the

on August 7, 2009, after

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...

Damion Cook was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

. He was waived on August 17 when the team signed

Dane Looker Dane Alan Looker (born May 5, 1976) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Washington Huskies. Looker was signed by the St. Louis Rams ...

Florida Tuskers

Sippio was signed by the

Florida Tuskers Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

of the United Football League on November 16, 2009. He played for then-head coach

Jay Gruden Jay Michael Gruden (born March 4, 1967) is an American football coach and former quarterback. He previously served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins from 2014 to 2019 and as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals and Jackson ...

Orlando Predators

Sippio signed with the Predators on April 13, 2010. Sippio scored 6 TDs (4 receiving, 2 rushing), including a game-winner with just 8.7 seconds remaining, in Orlando's 73–69 victory over #1 seed Jacksonville in the first round of the 2010 Arena Football Playoffs.

Legal trouble

On May 25, 2012, Bobby Sippio was arrested and charged with

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

, armed

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

, aggravated battery, and

kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

over an incident involving his girlfriend's brother. Sippio and a friend allegedly arrived at the man's apartment under the pretense of helping to move furniture, but instead they forced him into a vehicle at gunpoint, drove to an unpopulated area, then proceeded to beat and threaten the man before eventually returning him home. The man, Sergio Moore, suffered a broken nose, swollen left hand and wrist, and cuts to the head and cheek. All charges were dropped on September 12, 2016.

References

External links

Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sippio, Bobby 1980 births Living people Players of American football from Orlando, Florida American football cornerbacks American football safeties American football wide receivers Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football players Peoria Pirates players Greensboro Prowlers players Dallas Desperados players Tampa Bay Storm players Chicago Rush players Miami Dolphins players Kansas City Chiefs players Chicago Slaughter players Detroit Lions players Sacramento Mountain Lions players Florida Tuskers players Orlando Predators players