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The 69th Miss USA pageant will be held at the Exhibition Centre and the Soundstage at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, and will be hosted by Akbar and Allie LaForce
By Abhinav Singh
Published on : 14:30 PST, Nov 9, 2020
Akbar Gbaja-Biamila (Getty Images)
The Miss USA 2020 event, which was earlier scheduled to be held in spring but was postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, is set to take place on Monday, November 9, 2020. The 69th Miss USA pageant will be held at the Exhibition Centre and the Soundstage at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, and will be hosted by Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and Allie LaForce. The upcoming event will also see Cheslie Kryst and Christian Murphy as backstage commentators while Haley Reinhart – former 'American Idol' contestant – will be performing. The event will be broadcast on FYI which replaces Fox that had been airing the pageant since 2016.
This will be the first time for the 41-year-old Akbar to host the Miss USA pageant. Here's a look at the career of Akbar, a former professional player in the National Football League (NFL), and his transition to the world of showbiz and entertainment.
Who is Akbar Gbaja-Biamila?
Born in Los Angeles, California, Akbar started his professional football career in 2003 with the Oakland Raiders. Prior to that, he played college football at San Diego State University. A defensive end and linebacker, Akbar appeared in 14 games for the Raiders before being released in 2005. He was signed by the San Diego Chargers the following year, but in February 2007, he made his way to the Miami Dolphins before being let go a few months later in September 2007. Akbar made his way back to the Raiders in 2008 but was released before the start of the season resulting in his decision to retire from the sport. It was during his off time that he first tried his luck as an anchor/presenter co-hosting 'Football Night in San Diego' for two and a half seasons.
Akbar Gbaja-Biamila (Getty Images)
Soon, in 2010, Akbar was seen on ABC's reality series 'Expedition Impossible' created by producer Mark Burnett ('The Apprentice' and 'Survivor'). He then joined the NFL Network as a member of 'NFL Fantasy Live' and, in 2013, gained even more recognition as the co-host of NBC's 'American Ninja Warrior'. Hosting the show alongside Matt Iseman, he also took up the duty of presenting 'Team Ninja Warrior' (an 'American Ninja Warrior' spin-off). Later, he joined 'American Ninja Warrior Junior' as a color commentator alongside Iseman.
In 2018, before the start of the game between the San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies, Akbar threw the first pitch which was widely seen as the worst ever beating rapper 50 Cent's 2014 first pitch before the start of the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets. You can check out Akbar's first pitch throw below.
Akbar's twin older brother, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, was also a professional football player for the Green Bay Packers. Both his parents were born in Nigeria before immigrating to the United States. He serves on the board of the Michael J Fox Foundation, which raises millions of dollars for Parkinson’s research. Akbar released his first book, 'Everyone Can Be a Ninja', on May 7, 2019.
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