Another day, another controversy. That’s how Colorado Buffaloes two-way star Travis Hunter’s life has been recently. Well, fans might be wooed by his on-field tactics and his wide ear-to-ear grin, but he now walks on a controversial path. And no wonder, this would come up with a costly after-effect. After all, Hunter is on his way to fly in the NFL.
However, in the meantime, the dual-threat turned heads with his fiery take on MLB star Shohei Ohtani. And obviously it did not sit well with the fans. They then made use of their green pass to strip off Hunter on social media.
Travis Hunter’s honesty invited more controversy
Travis Hunter’s got a real position dilemma: corner or wideout? He ended his college career on a high note, even snagging the Heisman, but he risks falling short in the NFL if he makes the wrong call. As per FOX Sports Research’s projection, Hunter might be going off as the No.5 pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars. So, he must be looking for ways to boost his draft stocks. Instead, Hunter ended up making a controversial remark about Ohtani. From one two-way player to another two-way player.
Not to forget that Ohtani is the biggest star in baseball. The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar has three MVP awards under his belt. However, Hunter being Hunter, didn’t hold back before commenting about the star player. The Buffs two-way star asked whether his job was tougher than Ohtani’s. To which he confidently replied, “Probably me, what I do in football [is harder] because it is a lot on your body. Ohtani, he’s a great player, but you gotta do a lot in football.” ESPN posted the quote on IG and kept the comment section open with the caption, “Which do you think is harder? ” Now come on, we know how the draft stocks are not only about the on-field talents.
The NFL suitors have their critical eyes on players’ off-field moves as well. Shedeur being the best example. NFL Rookie Watch posted, “Shedeur Sanders is reportedly being placed behind Cam Ward on several team’s boards now due to ‘off-the-field/attitude’ concerns.” It further read, “Some NFL teams are reportedly ‘concerned’ that Sanders isn’t solely focused on football, but rather his rap career and creating a personality out of himself. One anonymous NFL GM reportedly believes there’s ‘red flags’ to Shedeur’s personality between his fiery attitude and the watch flexing.” After all, the pro league comes with a lot of responsibilities. Here, Hunter will have to tick the checkpoints by being a good leader and fitting the NFL culture first. Looking at the fans’ reactions, it does not promise much hope.
Fans turn their backs on Travis Hunter
Well, Hunter is a prankster; everybody knows that. However, it is not fun this time. His Ohtani comment might have hurt the feelings of MLB fans. Instead of attacking his skills, a fan thought of diving right into his personal life. Already things had hit sour notes in his relationship with Lenna Lenee after the Oklahoma Sooners game, where the two were spotted arguing. But despite that, these two, who are planning to tie the knot in May, have been showing each other plenty of love. Hunter’s life seems to revolve around his sweetheart, driving her to parties and having her by his side at the Heisman ceremony. And speaking of that, one fan couldn’t help but point out, “Ohtani don’t wait in the car for his girl at parties.”
Another fan did not make it a Hunter vs. Ohtani deal. Rather, he focused on making it about the two sports: “Baseball is the hardest sport in the world boss.” The throwing talent in baseball makes up a point for good debate. Not playing baseball, Hunter might not be aware of the arm strength it needs. As a fan wrote, “Throwing 100 mph and hitting 100 mph is pretty difficult travis.” Ohtani’s fastest pitch is 102 miles per hour (mph), which he threw in March 2023.
The Los Angeles star has the National League Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, the Hank Aaron Award, and the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award under his belt. So, an MLB fan can see no one other than Ohtani as the best. Upset with Hunter’s comment, one wrote, “Ohtani is one of the greats and I’m standing by that. I don’t think people outside of baseball realize the athleticism it takes.”
Well, even Hunter’s idol, HC Deion Sanders had played multiple sports, including basketball, track and field, beyond football. But he found baseball to be the hardest. Drawing that reference, a fan wrote, “Didnt deion sanders even say hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports?” With his height and talents, the Dodgers star comes off as the perfect package. And to a fan Ohtani can even beat Hunter for that WR1 role, no question. The comment read, “Ohtani is 6’5″ and has the speed to steal 50 bases on professional catchers, he could probably beat Travis if he was covering him, honestly if I had to draft one of the two as my WR1, Give me Shohei all day.” Travis Hunter’s got to do some serious damage control after that Ohtani slip.
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