When he was just a kid, Cowboys linebacker Azur Kamara fled from a civil war in the Ivory Coast to the United States. A couple of weeks ago, his family got to watch him play in an NFL game for the very first time.
HBO's football docuseries Hard Knocks provides a great opportunity for football fans to learn about players that aren't necessarily the superstars. This year, the Cowboys are featured on the show, and Kamara has taken that role.
His story alone is incredible, having spent his youth in the war-torn Ivory Coast, having to walk miles at a time as a child just to retrieve running water, and living in a mud-walled home with more than a dozen relatives.
At the age of ten, he was able to join his mother in Arizona after she fled the country first, though he spoke no English, and was now thousands of miles away from home.
He grew up playing soccer and found solace in the sport. It wasn't until the summer before his freshmen year when a coach convinced him to give football a try.
He had never played the sport before in his life, but by his senior year had earned all-conference accolades on both offense and defense and after a short stint in junior college, earned a spot on the University of Kansas Jayhawks football team.
During times of stress, Kamara always harkened back to memories of his family. He said per the Texas Monthly "My family's been through too much. My mom's been through too much, to put me in the situation I am today, for me to selfishly let that go."
Just eight years after starting playing football, Kamara now finds himself competing for a spot on the Cowboys' final roster. No matter what decision the team makes with Kamara, he should know he'll have fans in Dallas for life.
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