Spencer Hadley

Spencer Hadley is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the New Orleans Saints on May 12, 2014, but was later released. He signed with the Oakland Raiders on August 6, 2014, and was on the practice squad until December 20, 2014, when he moved to the active roster. He was waived on September 5, 2015.

Hadley was born October 30, 1989, in Oberlin, Ohio, and grew up on a dairy farm in eastern Washington. His father had 1,500 head of cattle and Spencer fed calves, branded and dehorned cows, castrated calves, and many other tasks required to run a farm.

He served a full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Sacramento, California, area.

After his mission, he returned to Brigham Young University where he was a linebacker. During his senior year, he was suspended for an honor code violation for partying in Las Vegas. He had already decided that the lifestyle was “not who I am or what I'm about” and that he was going to return to the life choices he had grown up with. But a private mistake became public when a University of Utah Ute fan sent an email to the Utes associate athletic director saying he had pictures of Hadley partying in Las Vegas. The email was shared with BYU’s compliance officer. A photo of him in Las Vegas went viral.

In a stirring appearance before inmates at a Utah correction facility, Hadley spoke of knowing he was a son of God and that he believed in redemption. An important profile of Hadley and this part of his life was written by Jeff Benedict and appeared in Sports Illustrated in September 2013. Read it here.

Since then, Hadley has been a Seminary teacher, account executive, and administrator.