Saousoalii Poe Siavii Jr. ( ; November 14, 1978 – January 13, 2022) was a Samoan-born professional

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

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

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) for the

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 ...

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

, and

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

. 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 ...

at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

Early life

Siavii attended Tafuna High School. He played for one year at Dixie State Junior College, before leaving for

Butte Community College Butte College is a public community college in the Butte-Glenn Community College District in Chico, Orland, and Oroville, California. History After the passage of the 1960 Donahoe Act, the voters of Butte County created a local community c ...

. He played two seasons, receiving All-NorCal Conference honors in 2000. In 2001, he was declared ineligible and was forced to spend the year earning his degree, before transferring to the

. As a junior, he was mainly a reserve

with only 2 starts, posting 15 tackles (2.5 for loss) and a half sack. As a senior, he was named a starter in a

defensive line 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 (D ...

that included Igor Olshansky, registering 43 tackles and 2 sacks. He finished his 2-year career with 58

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

(8.5 for loss), 2.5 sacks, 3

pass deflections In American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, f ...

, and one

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

recovery.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

Siavii was selected by the

in the second round (36th overall) of the

2004 NFL draft The 2004 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 from April 24–25, 2004, at the Theate ...

. He was expected to be a run stopper on the

but struggled as a rookie. He collected 12 tackles (4 for loss), one sack and 3 quarterback pressures. In 2005, his playing time was limited by a knee injury he suffered in

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

. He played in 14 games, recording 15 tackles and 3 quarterback pressures. In 2006, repeated knee injuries kept Siavii on the physically unable to perform list before he was waived on September 2, 2006. He eventually needed

microfracture surgery Microfracture surgery is an articular cartilage repair surgical technique that works by creating tiny fractures in the underlying bone. This causes new cartilage to develop from a so-called super-clot. The surgery is quick (typically lasting bet ...

on his right knee.

Dallas Cowboys

After being out of football for two years, he was signed as a free agent by the

on January 23, 2008. He was released on August 31. On January 12, 2009, he was re-signed. He played in 16 games registering 11 tackles. On April 8, 2010, he was re-signed by the team. He was cut on September 4, 2010.

Seattle Seahawks

On September 5, 2010, he was claimed off waivers by the

. He played in 14 games (6 starts), while setting a career-high in tackles (30), before being placed on the injured reserve list with a bruised spinal cord injury on December 23. He was released on September 4, 2011.

Legal trouble and death

On August 19, 2005, he was arrested for misdemeanor assault for his role in a bar fight in Minnesota. He was arrested On August 26, 2019, for charges related to illegal firearms in Kansas City, Missouri. He was indicted by the United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri on additional conspiracy and drug-trafficking charges; this supersedes his original indictment on November 15, 2019. On July 31, 2020, he was arrested on charges of second-degree burglary and a misdemeanor stealing charge. While awaiting trial at

United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth The Federal Correctional Institution, Leavenworth is a medium-security federal prison for male inmates in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It also includes ...

, on January 13, 2022, Siavii was found unresponsive in his cell. He was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead at the age of 43.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siavii, Junior 1978 births 2022 deaths American football defensive tackles Butte Roadrunners football players Dallas Cowboys players Dixie State Rebels football players Kansas City Chiefs players Oregon Ducks football players Seattle Seahawks players Sportspeople from Pago Pago Players of American football from American Samoa American sportspeople of Samoan descent American people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention Foreign nationals imprisoned in the United States Pacific Islander American players of American football