Scott Fujita

Rodney was born at the Gila River War Relocation Center in Phoenix, Arizona where his father Nagao, a 442nd Infantry Regiment combat veteran who later became an attorney, was one of many Japanese-Americans whose family was interned during World War II.

Fujita grew up in a traditional Japanese household, celebrating Japanese festivals and holidays, and considers himself "half-Japanese at heart".

He attended Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard, California.

In football, he was a two-way player at safety and tight end.

As a senior, he tallied 188 tackles, 4 sacks, 5 interceptions, 15 receptions for 350 yards and 6 touchdowns.

In basketball, he averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior.

He received first-team Channel League and Ventura County honors in both sports as a senior.

He also competed in the long jump, triple jump and high jump.

Fujita walked on at the University of California, Berkeley.

As a redshirt freshman, he was converted from a safety into an outside linebacker.

He played mostly on special teams, while collecting 8 defensive tackles as a backup.

As a sophomore, he made his first 2 starts.

Scott Anthony Fujita (born April 28, 1979) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL).

He played college football for the California Golden Bears.

He had 15 tackles at the end of the season, but needed to have offseason neck surgery in the spring of 2000.

As a junior, he started 11 games, making 41 tackles (13 for loss) and 4 sacks.

As a senior, he started 11 games at weakside linebacker, posting 60 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.

He finished his college career after appearing in 39 games with 24 starts, while registering 124 tackles, 7 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft.

He played in the NFL for the Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns.

Fujita was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fifth round (143rd) of the 2002 NFL Draft.

As a rookie, he started 9 of 16 games, recording 63 tackles, 6 passes defensed, one sack and 15 special teams tackles (tied for second on the team).

He made 9 tackles against the Buffalo Bills.

He had 8 tackles and 2 passes defensed against the Seattle Seahawks.

In 2003, he started all 16 games and led the team with 151 tackles (fifth most in club history), while also registering 4 sacks, 6 passes defensed, one forced fumble and one interception.

He had 15 tackles against the Houston Texans.

In 2004, he posted 112 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 3 passes defensed.

His devastating hit against LaDainian Tomlinson, is remembered as a turning point in the game, when Fujita also recovered the ball before it went out of bounds.

In 2005, after the Chiefs selected linebacker Derrick Johnson with its first-round pick and also signed linebacker Kendrell Bell, Fujita asked to be traded.

In the 2005 season, he played in 16 games and became the strongside linebacker starter for the last 8 contests, after Al Singleton was placed on the injured reserve list.

He recorded 58 tackles, 2 sacks, one pass defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 9 special teams tackles.

He was declared a free agent at the end of the season.

On September 3, he was sent to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2006 sixth round selection (#186-Tre' Stallings) and a 2007 conditional selection (not exercised).

In three seasons, he registered 326 tackles and 9 1/2 sacks.

On March 13, 2006, he signed with the New Orleans Saints, reuniting with former Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator, now head coach Sean Payton.

He was the first free agent to join the Saints when they returned to New Orleans after their year-long absence in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Fujita was named defensive captain of the 2007 Saints.

He was a member of the 2009 Saints team that won Super Bowl XLIV, defeating the Indianapolis Colts.

After his NFL career, he became Head of School at All Saints' Day School.

Scott Fujita was adopted as an infant by Rodney Fujita, who is a third-generation Japanese-American, and his wife Helen, who is white.