Gibran Hamdan

Gibran Latif Hamdan (born February 8, 1981) is a former professional American football quarterback in the National Football League and NFL Europa. He was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the seventh round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at Indiana.

Hamdan has also been a member of the Amsterdam Admirals, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills.

He is the first person of Pakistani descent to play in the NFL.

Early years

Hamdan's mother was a 16-year-old from Pakistan when she married his father, a Palestinian nuclear engineer who attended the University of Illinois but met her on a business trip. Hamdan was born in San Diego, but his family moved to Kuwait when he was three.

The family—which includes his younger brother, Bush—was on vacation back in San Diego when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991, destroying the family home and possessions. The Hamdans stayed in the U.S., and his mother took a job cutting hair until the family eventually settled in Potomac, Maryland.

Hamdan saw his first action at Winston Churchill High School in Potomac, MD as a backup quarterback. After his sophomore year, Hamdan transferred to Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia. As the football team's starting quarterback, he led the Northern Virginia area in passing yards, becoming Virginia Independent Schools Player of the Year and earning first-team all-league and district honors. Hamdan also was a starting center for the...
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