Karon J. Riley is an gridiron football

Gridiron football

Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...

 defensive lineman who most recently played for the Cleveland Gladiators of the Arena Football League

High school career

At Martin Luther King High School in Detroit, Michigan, Riley starred in football

High school football

High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....

, basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, and track&field. As a senior, in football, he was an All-City choice, an All-Metro choice, and an All-State choice.

Professional career

Karon Riley entered the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 by being selected by the Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the 4th round (103rd overall pick) of the 2001 NFL Draft

2001 NFL Draft

The 2001 NFL Draft took place on April 21–22, 2001 at the theater at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. This was the 66th National Football League draft in league history. The draft was broadcast on ESPN both days and eventually moved to ESPN2. No teams elected to claim any players in the...

 out of the University of Minnesota

Minnesota Golden Gophers football

The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...

. He played with the Bears in 2001

2001 Chicago Bears season

The 2001 Chicago Bears season was their 82nd regular season and 23rd postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a surprising 13-3 record under head coach Dick Jauron en route to an NFC Central title and the number two seed in the NFC...

 and the Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 (2003

2003 Atlanta Falcons season

The 2003 Atlanta Falcons season is best remembered for in the 3rd preseason game, the QB Michael Vick broke his leg and was done for most of the season. Atlanta had 2 other QBs take over for a combined 2-10 record. Vick returned in week 14 and ended the season with a 3-1 record.-NFL...

-2004

2004 Atlanta Falcons season

-Roster:-Schedule:-Week 1:The Falcons began their season by traveling to San Francisco, where Falcons head coach Jim L. Mora had coached the last five years as the 49ers defensive coordinator, to play the San Francisco 49ers...

).

In 2005

2005 Toronto Argonauts season

The 2005 Toronto Argonauts season was the 48th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and 133rd season overall. The Argonauts finished the regular season 11–7 and finished in first place in the CFL's Eastern Division.-CFL Draft:-Preseason:...

, he played two games in the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 with the Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

.

On January 30, 2006, Riley signed with the Redskins as an unrestricted free agent but was released on August 28, 2006

Karon Riley played two sesaons in the Arena Football League with the Las Vegas/Cleveland Gladiators (2007–2008) as an offensive lineman/defensive lineman. On August 8, 2008 Riley was removed from the Gladiators roster and reassigned to the Arena Football 1 League office.

Personal

Karon is married to actress Terri J. Vaughn

Terri J. Vaughn

Terri J. Vaughn is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role as high school secretary Lovita Alizé Jenkins-Robinson on the WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show. Vaughn also portrayed first-grade teacher Jonelle Abrahams on the UPN/CW sitcom All of Us...

and on April 24, 2008 Vaughn welcomed their first child, a boy named Kal'El Joseph Riley.