Akbar Oluwakemi-Idowu Gbaja-Biamila (born May 6, 1979) is a former professional American football player in the National Football League (NFL) who is a commentator and co-host on the American Ninja Warrior television series. He is a former analyst for the NFL Network, and is currently one of the co-hosts of The Talk on CBS. Gbaja-Biamila grew up in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles with his mother and father, both of whom were born and raised in Nigeria, and his six siblings. Among his siblings is former Green Bay Packers defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. Before starting his professional career, Gbaja-Biamila played college football at San Diego State University. He was signed by the Oakland Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2003. Gbaja-Biamila played for two other teams, the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins. Gbaja-Biamila currently co-hosts The Talk on CBS and American Ninja Warrior on NBC, as well as the Universal Kids spin off show, American Ninja Warrior Junior. Gbaja-Biamila released his first book, Everyone Can Be a Ninja on May 7, 2019. Early life Gbaja-Biamila was born in Los Angeles, California to Nigerian immigrant parents. He is one of seven children. He attended Crenshaw High School in South Los Angeles, where he was a star basketball player on teams which were part of the Willie West Jr. coaching era. He and his teammates won back-to-back City and State Championships in 1996 and 1997. Gbaja-Biamila moved to play football during his senior year. He was an all-league and all-conference choice. He was also named team’s defensive lineman of the year, compiling 11 sacks and 74 tackles in his senior campaign. College career In his senior year, Gbaja-Biamila received scholarship offers from University of Oregon, University of California, Berkeley, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Colorado State. He chose to go to San Diego State University, where his older brother also attended. Gbaja-Biamila was all-Mountain West Conference in 2002. He joined the group Athletes For Education, an outreach group that sent players to go into communities to work with young people on developing their life skills. He graduated with a degree in communication and new media studies, before completing a certified entrepreneurship program at the Wharton School of Business in 2005. Professional career Oakland Raiders Gbaja-Biamila went undrafted in the 2003 NFL Draft and later signed with the Oakland Raiders as a free agent. He made the team out