MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa doesn't want to take chances with his family's safety, so the Miami Dolphins’ star quarterback hired personal security when one of his cars was broken into about a year ago.
"(It was) a little too close for my comfort with my family being in the house,” Tagovailoa said Wednesday. “So we got personal security to take care of all of that. When we're on the road, we've got someone with my wife, got someone also at the house, surveying the house.”
Tagovailoa, speaking days after the home of Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow was broken into while the Bengals were playing a Monday night game at Dallas, also noted his security is armed, "so I hope that if you decide to go to my house, you think twice.”
Burrow's home was the latest targeted in a string of burglaries of pro athletes' homes in the U.S., which included the homes of Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.
Mahomes' and Kelce's homes were broken into in October, prompting the NFL to issue a security alert to teams and the players' union warning that the houses of numerous pro athletes were “increasingly targeted for burglaries by organized and skilled groups," according to a memo previously obtained by The Associated Press.
Law enforcement officials noted these groups target the homes on days the athletes have games. Players were told to take precautions and implement home security measures to reduce the risk of being targeted.
Tagovailoa's personal security has been in place since long before this string of break-ins.
No one was injured in the Monday night break-in at Burrow's home, but it was ransacked, according to a report provided by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
In the NBA, Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis had his home broken into Nov. 2 and Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley Jr.’s home was burglarized on Sept. 15 while he was at a Minnesota Vikings game.
Portis had offered a $40,000 reward for information, and the NBA later issued its own memo revealing that the FBI has connected some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices.”
Some of the groups have conducted extensive surveillance on targets, including attempted home deliveries and posing as grounds maintenance or joggers in the neighborhood, according to officials.
Tagovailoa, who just signed an extension with the Dolphins last offseason, said he doesn't necessarily feel like a target, "but I wouldn't want to play the chances with my family and kids sleeping, my wife sleeping, me sleeping at the house.”
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