Nicolas "Hakeem" Kashama (born February 22, 1978) is a former professional

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

. He was signed by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2004. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Connecticut Huskies The UConn Huskies (or Connecticut Huskies) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Connecticut, located in Storrs. The school is a member of the NCAA's Division I and the Big East Conference. The university's fo ...

. Kashama was also a member of the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

and

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

. His brothers Alain, Fernand, and Kalonji, as well as his cousin,

Tim Biakabutuka Tshimanga "Tim" Biakabutuka (born January 24, 1974) is a former American football running back. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1993 to 1995. He next played professional football for the Carolina Panthers of the Nat ...

all played professional football.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Kashama went undrafted in the

2004 NFL Draft The 2004 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 2004 at the Theater at ...

and signed with the

on May 19, 2004. He was released on June 2 before being re-signed on July 6. On July 21, he was released for the second and final time.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Kashama signed with the

on August 9, 2004. He played in two games with Hamilton in 2004, with his debut coming on August 19 against the

Ottawa Renegades The Ottawa Renegades were a Canadian Football League franchise based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, six years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded. After four seasons, the Renegades franchise was suspended indefinitely by the league ...

. He suffered a leg injury on

Labour Day Labour Day ('' Labor Day'' in the United States) is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for ...

that forced him to miss the rest of the season. During his two years in Hamilton, Kashama played in ten games and recorded four tackles which were the only ones of his career.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Kashama signed with the

. During the Blue Bombers 2006 training camp, he was noted for his hard hits on offensive players. He was released by Winnipeg on June 10, 2006.

Calgary Stampeders

He originally signed with the

during the 2007 offseason before being released after training camp. On June 1, 2008, Kashama re-signed with Calgary and was a final cut on June 22, 2008.

Personal

Kashama is the brother of current Stampeders players Alain and

Fernand Kashama Fernand Kashama (born February 26, 1985) is a former Canadian football defensive lineman who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders in the second round of the 2008 CFL Draft. He played college footbal ...

. His cousin is also ex-

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kashama, Hakeem Living people 1978 births Sportspeople from Kinshasa American football defensive ends Canadian football defensive linemen UConn Huskies football players Cleveland Browns players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Calgary Stampeders players Black Canadian players of American football Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to Canada American people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent Democratic Republic of the Congo players of American football Democratic Republic of the Congo players of Canadian football

Hakeem Hakeem is an Arabic-language given name, a romanization variant of Hakim. It can also be used as a surname. Notablle people with the name include: Given name * Hakeem Abdul-Saboor *Hakeem Abdul-Shaheed *Hakeem Adeniji * Hakeem al-Araibi * Hakeem ...

Canadian people of Democratic Republic of the Congo descent