Dat Nguyen reminisces about shattering a stereotype as the NFL’s pioneer Vietnamese player

Growing up playing high school football in the early 2000s, I never imagined that I would see someone who looked like me playing at the highest level of a sport I loved. For many, representation at the pinnacle of something you are passionate about can be taken for granted. However, for Asian American kids in sports during that time, it was virtually nonexistent. So, when I first saw the name “Nguyen” on the back of an NFL jersey, I was genuinely in awe.

Someone with my last name in the NFL, and he wasn’t a kicker (not that there’s anything wrong with that). He was a linebacker, one of the most physical positions in sports, for the Dallas Cowboys.

That jersey belonged to Dat Nguyen, the All-Pro linebacker, who became a legend at Texas A&M. He wasn’t just on the roster; he was one of the best defenders in the league. Seeing him play not only made it seem more possible that Asians could play in the NFL, but it also created a new connection to pro football for me.

We aren’t related, as Nguyen is a common last name, but for me and the Asian kids from my generation who watched him, he represented us on the field. He broke a barrier we didn’t think could be broken, shattering it with every bone-rattling tackle. May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a good time to reflect on the history Nguyen made and how he got there.

Discovering football

Nguyen and his family experienced a similar journey as many Vietnamese migrants in America in the ’80s. During the Vietnam War, his parents fled by boat as the Viet Cong took over their homes in Vietnam. They began their new lives in a refugee camp in Arkansas before moving to Texas, where Nguyen would grow up and discover football.

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“So that’s when I knew it was over,” Nguyen said. “I was glad I was able to walk away. And, you know, you miss it. I’m sorry, you miss the locker room. You miss the competition. You miss the four seconds of the game when the ball snaps. I can’t explain this to anybody or share it with people because it’s so unique.”

Nguyen retired in 2005 and went on to have brief stints coaching with the Cowboys and Texas A&M. He’s earned several accolades since his retirement, including making the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame, All-Time Big 12 Team, and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. But his seven seasons, a relatively long career, were not enough to get Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration. Though he won’t be enshrined in Canton, his career was truly unique. He was the first Vietnamese player to be drafted in the NFL and the only one to date. Nguyen was a barrier breaker, and he hopes his story can inspire other Asian kids to follow in his footsteps.

“I thought when you broke the barrier back then when I was playing, I was hoping that it was open to people,” he said. “I was hoping that more kids would be participants. It’s hard to find. … I mean, even my nephew, that’s going to graduation tonight, he’s a good ball player. I don’t think he’s a DI player, but I think he’s able to play DIII if he wants to pursue it. And then (many kids wave) off the option, but it’s like, man, you never know how you develop your body. It might be small stature, but man, a lot of times, football teaches you so much. But the opportunity to make it and fulfill a dream, man, it’s like no other, though. And I think a lot of them don’t want to pursue it because the chances are against them, which it is.”

(Top photo: Al Messerschmidt and Doug Pensinger / Getty Images)