In 1963, the family left SFY Yugoslavia due to his father's and mother's anti-communist politics (both had spent time in prison for their activities) and lived for a while in Turkey and Libya before settling in the United States in 1967. The Šaćirbegović family lived in Parma, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, and became naturalized citizens in 1973. It was at this point that the family name was changed to Sacirbey. Sacirbey attended Valley Forge High School in Parma Heights, Ohio. "Mo" was elected student council representative even before he became U.S. citizen, became a highly acclaimed football player as well as academically recognized - he was accepted to Harvard among other highly acclaimed universities.