After achieving his lifelong dream of playing professional football, a severe injury that left his neck fractured will likely sideline YouTuber Deestroying for the remainder of the UFL season. There’s also a chance he never returns to the field at all.
Donald De La Haye Jr., better known by his YouTube name Deestroying, earned a roster spot for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League.
Serving as the team’s kickoff specialist, Deestroying made a bombastic professional football debut with a victory against the Washington Defenders.
He led all UFL kickers in yards per attempt on kickoffs, averaging 74.2 yards per kick and tallying an impressive 4.2 seconds of air time per Pro Football Focus.
Deestroying didn’t attempt a field goal in the opening contest but hoped to get on the scoreboard in week two. Alas, an injury to the star kicker has thwarted all momentum.
YouTuber Deestroying with a big hit following a kickoff for the UFL’s Brahmas pic.twitter.com/K4MdpARnIh
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) April 8, 2024
Following one of Deestroying’s kickoffs, he flew down the field to lay a big hit on the returner. A loud thud was heard on the ESPN broadcast as he attempted the tackle.
Deestroying successfully brought the ball carrier down, but he got up slowly and jogged off the field. After the game, the Brahmas placed their star kicker on the injured reserve list.
He announced on Instagram that he “fractured his neck in a couple places” due to poor tackling form. Deestroying is urging young football players to learn the proper technique to avoid a similar injury.
Brahmas fans shared their disappointment online, while superstar NFL quarterback Kyler Murray offered some positive words for Deestroying.
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Speedy recovery bro.. @Deestroying
— Kyler Murray (@K1) April 9, 2024
In a follow-up YouTube video, he revealed the ways in which his neck was broken on impact, with his C5 vertebrae getting fractured and some of the muscles in his neck being damaged. According to his doctor, he’ll have to be in a neck brace for at least 3 months to heal.
And, even then, it’s unclear if he’ll return to the field at all. Deestroying claimed to be “closing this chapter” on his life and is moving on for now.
Deestroying had only one and a half games to prove he isn’t a “publicity stunt” for San Antonio. He accomplished this by winning over several of his doubters, including PFN’s James Larsen.
Sporting a larger-than-life personality, Deestroying already had a growing YouTube account with nearly 100k subscribers when he arrived at UCF as a special teams ace.
However, per the NCAA rules at the time, college athletes were not permitted to earn money from their name, image, or likeness.
Deestroying chose to keep making YouTube videos, subsequently giving up his scholarship to UCF. Now, he is one of the most popular sports YouTubers in the world.
He has 5.83 million subscribers, and his videos consistently fetch millions of views on YouTube and TikTok. Tyreek Hill and Cam Newton are only a couple examples of the current and former NFL players who have appeared on his channel.
A fractured neck jeopardizes the 27-year-old’s chances at returning to the field in 2024. In all likelihood, Deestroying won’t take another UFL snap this season.
