Jonathan David Fanene (born March 19, 1982) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is p ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home ...

in the seventh round of the

2005 NFL Draft The 2005 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 23–24, 2005. The league also hel ...

. He played college football at

College of the Canyons College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus loca ...

and

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

College career

While attending the University of Utah, the Utes were able to win the 2005 Fiesta Bowl by defeating the University of Pittsburgh 35-7. At Utah, his jersey was number 91. He was a

Sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

major.

Professional career

At the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

, Fanene had impressive scores. In the 40-yard dash, Fanene posted a 5.3 time. He also completed a 410-pound bench press.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals drafted Fanene with the 233rd overall pick in the seventh round of the

. Fanene was back living in American Samoa during the draft. Once Fanene arrived in Cincinnati, he received number 68. As a Bengal, Fanene was a teammate of

Domata Peko Domata Uluaifaasau Peko Sr (born November 27, 1984) is an American football nose tackle who is a free agent. Peko was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Pago Pago, American Samoa. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by t ...

, another Samoan-born player. Fanene was quoted in the ''

Cincinnati Post ''The Cincinnati Post'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. In Northern Kentucky, it was bundled inside a local edition called ''The Kentucky Post''. The ''Post'' was a founding publication and onetime ...

'' about the new members:

"To be honest, it does make me more comfortable," said Fanene. "I'm used to being around different races but seeing the same nationality around you and having your friends from back home, it makes me happy to work with them." (The quote was in reference to
Domata Peko Domata Uluaifaasau Peko Sr (born November 27, 1984) is an American football nose tackle who is a free agent. Peko was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Pago Pago, American Samoa. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted by t ...
and
Matt Toeaina Mataifale Aigafaimeaso'o "Matt" Toeaina ( ; born October 9, 1984) is a former American football defensive tackle who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft ...
, both Samoan-born players on the Bengals at the time; however, Matt Toeaina was cut during the 2007 season.)

Fanene was slowed by injuries including a

hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrup ...

injury in the off-season prior to the 2006 campaign. Fanene was able to play in four of the final five games of the 2006 season. On February 22, 2008, the Bengals and Fanene reached an agreement on a three-year extension.

New England Patriots

On March 14, 2012, Fanene signed with the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

for three years, $12 million with a $3.5 million signing bonus. He was released with a "failure to disclose physical condition" designation on August 21, 2012.

Political career

Fanene had served as the Director of the American Samoa Department of Youth and Women's Affairs. His employment was terminated by American Samoa's acting Lt. Gov Lemanu Palepoi Sialega Mauga after Fanene was arrested for a May 26, 2019 incident where Fanene physically assaulted his wife and sister in front of his own son.

Personal life

Fanene is a member of a family with 12 children, and is married to his wife Lorelei. Fanene resides in

Dayton, Kentucky The City of Dayton, Kentucky, is a home rule-class city along a bend of the Ohio River in Campbell County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 5,338 at the 2010 census. It is less than from downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Geography ...

, a small town across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. They have a son, Truman. Fanene is of Samoan descent.

References

External links

Cincinnati Bengals bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fanene, Jonathan 1982 births Living people People from Pago Pago Players of American football from American Samoa American sportspeople of Samoan descent American football defensive ends College of the Canyons Cougars football players Utah Utes football players Cincinnati Bengals players