Former NFL punter and AFL legend Saverio Rocca saved the day when a shoplifter tried to make off at a shopping center in Australia. On Sunday, the former athlete witnessed the thief taking items from JD Sports in Preston’s Northland Shopping Centre when he sprung into action. “I saw a guy, maybe mid-20s, rip out […]
Former NFL punter and AFL legend Saverio Rocca saved the day when a shoplifter tried to make off at a shopping center in Australia.
On Sunday, the former athlete witnessed the thief taking items from JD Sports in Preston’s Northland Shopping Centre when he sprung into action.
“I saw a guy, maybe mid-20s, rip out clothes from a shop assistant and I said to the girl, ‘Is he stealing that’ and she said yes,’’ Rocca told the Herald Sun, a Melbourne newspaper.
“I asked him to give them back and he said ‘Nah, I’m leaving’ and he started running.
“Stupid me, I started chasing him and I was running out the door yelling a few F-words and I said ‘If I catch you I’ll fix you up’. He decided to drop all the clothes and said all right.”
Rocca, 51, spent seven seasons in the NFL from 2007-2013 during stints with the Eagles and then-Redskins.
During his time in the league, Rocca was considered one of the top punters in football, averaging at least 42 yards a punt in all seven of his professional seasons.
Rocca is one of the top strikers in the history of the Australian Football League, scoring 748 goals, which ranks 14th all-time.
After 15 seasons and at the age of 33 in 2006, Rocca made the jump to the gridiron, eventually signing with Philadelphia.
