K.J. Malone, the son of NBA legend Karl Malone, gave up on an NFL career Monday, calling it quits over knee injury issues after training with the Houston Texans.
The younger Malone, a standout college offensive lineman at Louisiana State University who turned 23 last week, was not taken in the NFL Draft but signed with the Texans last month.
After attending last weekend’s Texans’ mini-camp, Malone announced on his Twitter account that he was giving up on his NFL dream, citing lingering effects from a 2017 knee injury that sidelined him for six games.
“Thank you to the Houston Texans for an incredible opportunity,” Malone tweeted. “Due to my previous knee injury during my career at LSU, I have not been able to recover and decided it was best to step away from the game of football and take time to heal.
“With that being said, I will further my career in law enforcement. Thank you everyone for all your support.”
The elder Malone, 54, was a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player power forward who spent 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz and played his final campaign in 2003-2004 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He was a two-time Olympic champion as a member of the 1992 US Olympic “Dream Team” and the 1996 gold-medal squad.
(Agence France-Presse)