Joe Montana has asked for privacy and showed appreciation to those who reached out to him and his family.
The bond between grandparents and grandchildren is a special one. Both of them benefit from this close bond and learn from each other. After parents, grandparents may be the ones that little ones turn to for love and affection. The senior adults likely feel extremely protective about their grandchildren, who will be little to them no matter how old they grow, and would do anything to protect them.
Recently, pro-football Hall of Famer Joe Montana, 64, and his wife, Jennifer, 62, faced a difficult moment that could have been life-threatening. The couple stopped an intruder who tried to kidnap their grandchild. On September 26, a woman entered their home and tried to take their infant grandchild away but the couple was able to thwart her attempt. The 9-month-old child was sleeping in the playpen in the living room in Montana's Malibu, California, home.
The woman, later identified as 39-year-old Sodsai Dalzell, took the child out of the playpen, held the child in her arms, and took it upstairs. The Montanas confronted her there, according to the sheriff's department, quoted by NPR. They asked her to give them the child back but when they were unable to get their grandchild back from her, a scuffle took place. The woman refused to give the child back.
Jennifer, a former model, was able to snatch the child away from Sodsai's arms. The woman then fled their home. "At approximately 1700 hours, deputies patrolling the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station were flagged down in the City of Malibu by a man they recognized as Mr. Joe Montana. Mr. Montana stated an unknown female had just entered his residence, kidnapped his grandchild, then fled the location without the child," the LASD statement said.
The statement said that the Montanas tried to "de-escalate the situation," but eventually the child was taken back only after a "tussle ensued." "Mrs. Montana was able to safely pry the child out of the suspect’s arms. The suspect fled the location. The deputies searched the area, and she was subsequently taken into custody; charged with kidnapping and burglary. None of the parties were injured during the incident, including the nine-month-old child. The suspect was identified as Sodsai Dalzell, female adult," the statement read.
After the incident, Montana tweeted to express his appreciation for those who enquired about their safety. "Thank you to everyone who has reached out. Scary situation, but thankful that everybody is doing well. We appreciate respect for our privacy at this time," he said.
The quarterback nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid" was a quarterback in the National Football League for 15 years and for 13 of those he was with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Kansas City Chiefs, according to People.com. He led the 49ers to four Super Bowl championships and left it only in 1993 for the Kansas City Chiefs for two seasons until he retired.
He and his wife Jennifer have been married since 1985. They have four children Alexandra, 34, and Elizabeth, 33, and sons Nate, 30, and Nicholas, 28, but Jennifer calls Montana her “big kid,” according to CBS San Francisco. In 2015, she said that family means "everything" to her. "It’s something we’ve really stressed to the kids growing up," she added.
Time has taught her to learn the value of staying close to the people she loves and prioritizing them. While she's a busy woman, she still puts her family first. "I think it’s a question of what’s important," she explained. "You make a list of things you need to do and sometimes it gets squashed… one phone call from the kids," she added, saying that's all it takes.
The former model and actress, who has appeared in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazine in 1999, is a jewelry designer now. The couple has a foundation called The Four Rings Foundation, in reference to Montana's Super Bowl rings, to help families and children across the Bay Area.
"A positive message of love, faith, and grace… four (Super Bowl) rings, four kids… we hope one day they will take a bigger part in it, finding more ways to give back," is how she defines their foundation.
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