Hakeem Valles’ story is all about overcoming the odds. He made it to the NFL as an undrafted free agent and played in the league for three years with the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions and New York Giants.
But before he ever stepped foot on a professional football field, he first had to overcome staring death in the face. Valles is the grandson of Haitian immigrants and wanted to go back and visit his family’s roots. While on a mission trip to Haiti in 2015, right after graduating college, Valles and his family were tied up and robbed at gunpoint. The robbery began with a bullet through the house where his family was staying, followed by group of robbers kicking their way through the screen door. The strangers tied up Valles and his family and blindfolded them while the attackers ransacked the house.
The men stole computers, flashlights and anything else they could find. They punched the woman who ran the nonprofit, with whom Hakeem was traveling, and attempted to rape another woman. A pastor who was hidden in a back room tried to call the police. But the police said they wouldn’t come. This is what can happen when you’re in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. One of the men in the house alerted a friend nearby of the attack. The friend shot a gun into the air, scaring the robbers. But the attackers quickly figured out they’d been tricked, came back to tie up some of the men, continued to steal everything in the house and then finally left for good.
Hakeem was lucky to be alive. He quickly exited the country, but that whole incident helped him realize the fragility and preciousness of life. After returning to the U.S. and getting help for PTSD, he was motivated like never before to once again overcome the odds and make it to the NFL. At Monmouth University, he’d sat on the bench until his senior year, when he became a captain. After his scare in Haiti, he worked with every fiber of his being to join his brother Max in the NFL. Although he didn’t get drafted, Hakeem signed with the Arizona Cardinals in 2016 and began his three-year journey in the league. Valles, who retired from the NFL in 2019, is now a real estate guru and national speaker based in St. Louis. He invests in multi-family properties in emerging markets all around the country that have a high quality of life and very nice people. He’s enjoying time with his fiancé Marina and little girl Lucienne.
