Vai Sikahema
| Date of birth | 29 August 1962 |
|---|---|
| Place of birth | Nukuʻalofa, Tonga |
| Career information | |
| Position(s) |
Running back Kickoff returner |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Weight | 191 lb (87 kg) |
| College | Brigham Young |
| NFL draft | 1986 / Round: 10 / Pick: 254 |
| Career history | |
| As player | |
| 1986–1990 | St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals |
| 1991 | Green Bay Packers |
| 1992–1993 | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Pro Bowls | 1986, 1987 |
| Career stats | |
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Vai Sikahema (born 29 August 1962) is a Tongan former American football player and television news reporter. The first Tongan ever to play in the National Football League (NFL), he played running back and kickoff returner in the league for eight seasons, from 1986 to 1993. He played college football for the Brigham Young University Cougars, and was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals (now the Arizona Cardinals) in the tenth round of the 1986 NFL Draft. He also played for the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles before retiring after the 1993 season. Since retiring he has served as Sports Director for WCAU, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Philadelphia, where he has been since 1994.
Sikahema is an older cousin of fellow Tongan NFL player Deuce Lutui.
Sikahema was born in Nukuʻalofa, the capital of Tonga. In 1967, when he was 5, the family traveled to New Zealand at great personal expense to be sealed in the temple. They remained in New Zealand for three months until his father had earned enough money shearing sheep for them to return to Tonga.
His parents later went to the Church College of Hawai'i (now Brigham Young University-Hawaii), leaving Vai and his siblings with relatives in Tonga. After a year of working at the Polynesian Cultural Center they had enough money to bring Vai to join them. His family later moved to the U.S. state of Arizona, settling in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix. It was here that they got legal resident status and were eventually able to bring his other siblings to join them. Sikahema attended Mesa High School, where he played high school football.
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