Isaiah Kacyvenski
Encyclopedia
Isaiah J. Kacyvenski [kaz-uh-VIN-ski] (born October 3, 1977 in Endicott, New York
) is a former American football
linebacker
of the National Football League
. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks
in the fourth round of the 2000 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Harvard.
Kacyvenski also spent time with the St. Louis Rams
and Oakland Raiders
. After spending the 2007 season out of football, Kacyvenski officially announced his retirement in 2008.
, New York
. He grew up with his parents; his mother and his alcoholic and sometimes abusive father until their divorce when he was nine. When he was thirteen, his mother left to do missionary work, leaving the care of him and his siblings back with their father.
Kacyvenski attended Union Endicott High School where he was an honors student and served as captain of the football team. His ultimate goal was to earn a football scholarship to University of Notre Dame
. His mother was killed by a truck as she walked along the road on the same day of Kacyvenski's biggest high school football game in his senior season. Upon hearing of his mother's death, he fell "to his knees crying." He ended up playing in the game that night, calling it one of the best games of his life.
He received a phone call at the end of his senior year from Harvard University
coach Tim Murphy offering him an academic scholarship. While Kacyvenski was reluctant to go to for fear of not fitting in, his coach convinced him that he would never regret going to Harvard.
with a passage highlighted: "Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you. I can never forget you! I have written you in the palm of my hands." - Isaiah 49:15. Kacyvenski took these things as signs that he was making the right decision in his life. Coincidentally, 49 was also the jersey number he had been randomly assigned upon arrival at Harvard.
For four years, Kacyvenski started every game at Harvard University. As a freshman, he won the Ivy League
Rookie of the Year award, and for three years, won All-Ivy League first team honors. As a senior, he had a school single-season record 135 tackles, and for his college career, finished with a school career-record record 395 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 11 interceptions, and 8 fumble recoveries. He received the Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award for sportsmanship
following his senior season.
In 2000
, Kacyvenski was selected in the 4th round of the NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks
. He graduated cum laude with a pre-med degree, but elected to miss his commencement ceremony to attend the first days of football training camp. His father attended the ceremony in cap and gown in Kacyvenski's stead and received the Harvard diploma for his son.
recording 267 tackles in 90 games. In 2005, Kacyvenski was Special Teams captain of the Seattle Seahawks and helped lead the team to Super Bowl XL
, which was played in Detroit, Michigan
. He was released by the team on September 30, 2006.
on July 11. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve
on August 7 and released with an injury settlement a week later.
However, in September 2008, it was reported that Kacyvenski had decided to retire. A knee injury kept him out of the 2007 season and it was recommended by Dr. James Andrews that he not continue playing.
Also in September, Kacyvenski, along with five other former NFL players, agreed to donate his brain upon his death to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, a joint program between the Boston University School of Medicine and Sports Legacy Institute in order to have research into the effects of concussions on the human brain performed. Kacyvenski, like many NFL players, suffered a number of concussions over the course of his playing career.
Kacyvenski is currently a student in the Harvard Business School class of 2011.
, Kacyvenski appeared as the first guest to talk about his rough childhood and reconciliation with his abusive father.
Endicott, New York
Endicott is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,038 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is named after Henry B...
) is a former American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
in the fourth round of the 2000 NFL Draft
2000 NFL Draft
The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15–16, 2000...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Harvard.
Kacyvenski also spent time with the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
and Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. After spending the 2007 season out of football, Kacyvenski officially announced his retirement in 2008.
Early years
Isaiah Kacyvenski was the youngest of five children in upstate EndicottEndicott, New York
Endicott is a village in Broome County, New York, United States. The population was 13,038 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village is named after Henry B...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He grew up with his parents; his mother and his alcoholic and sometimes abusive father until their divorce when he was nine. When he was thirteen, his mother left to do missionary work, leaving the care of him and his siblings back with their father.
Kacyvenski attended Union Endicott High School where he was an honors student and served as captain of the football team. His ultimate goal was to earn a football scholarship to University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. His mother was killed by a truck as she walked along the road on the same day of Kacyvenski's biggest high school football game in his senior season. Upon hearing of his mother's death, he fell "to his knees crying." He ended up playing in the game that night, calling it one of the best games of his life.
He received a phone call at the end of his senior year from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
coach Tim Murphy offering him an academic scholarship. While Kacyvenski was reluctant to go to for fear of not fitting in, his coach convinced him that he would never regret going to Harvard.
College career
While he was a freshman at Harvard, Kacyvenski came across items that belonged to his mother. Among the items he found a picture of his mother wearing a Harvard sweatshirt and her BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
with a passage highlighted: "Can a woman forget her own baby and not love the child she bore? Even if a mother should forget her child, I will never forget you. I can never forget you! I have written you in the palm of my hands." - Isaiah 49:15. Kacyvenski took these things as signs that he was making the right decision in his life. Coincidentally, 49 was also the jersey number he had been randomly assigned upon arrival at Harvard.
For four years, Kacyvenski started every game at Harvard University. As a freshman, he won the Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
Rookie of the Year award, and for three years, won All-Ivy League first team honors. As a senior, he had a school single-season record 135 tackles, and for his college career, finished with a school career-record record 395 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 11 interceptions, and 8 fumble recoveries. He received the Nils V. "Swede" Nelson Award for sportsmanship
Sportsmanship
Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...
following his senior season.
In 2000
2000 NFL Draft
The 2000 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur U.S. college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 15–16, 2000...
, Kacyvenski was selected in the 4th round of the NFL draft by the Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
. He graduated cum laude with a pre-med degree, but elected to miss his commencement ceremony to attend the first days of football training camp. His father attended the ceremony in cap and gown in Kacyvenski's stead and received the Harvard diploma for his son.
Seattle Seahawks
Kacyvenski played six-plus seasons with the Seattle SeahawksSeattle Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
recording 267 tackles in 90 games. In 2005, Kacyvenski was Special Teams captain of the Seattle Seahawks and helped lead the team to Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
, which was played in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. He was released by the team on September 30, 2006.
St. Louis Rams
Kacyvenski signed a one-year contract with the St.Louis Rams on October 3, 2006, and played in ten games for them during the remainder of the 2006 season.Oakland Raiders
An unrestricted free agent in the 2007 offseason, Kacyvenski signed a one-year contract with the Oakland RaidersOakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on July 11. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve
Injured reserve
The injured reserve list is a list of reserved players who are injured and unable to play for a period of time, used most prominently in the National Hockey League and National Football League . It is used because these leagues have a maximum number of players on the team roster, so placing a...
on August 7 and released with an injury settlement a week later.
Retirement
After being released by the Raiders with an injury settlement, Kacyvenski said he wanted to return for another season in the NFL.However, in September 2008, it was reported that Kacyvenski had decided to retire. A knee injury kept him out of the 2007 season and it was recommended by Dr. James Andrews that he not continue playing.
Also in September, Kacyvenski, along with five other former NFL players, agreed to donate his brain upon his death to the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, a joint program between the Boston University School of Medicine and Sports Legacy Institute in order to have research into the effects of concussions on the human brain performed. Kacyvenski, like many NFL players, suffered a number of concussions over the course of his playing career.
Kacyvenski is currently a student in the Harvard Business School class of 2011.
Personal
On the July 12, 2007 episode of The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, Kacyvenski appeared as the first guest to talk about his rough childhood and reconciliation with his abusive father.