One Alabama fan’s comments have raised some eyebrows over his concern about the “language barrier” between Hawaiian quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and his teammates.
As Hawaii is one of the fifty states, inaugurated in 1959, the residents most certainly speak English.
Ben Reiter, senior writer at Sports Illustrated, noticed the comment and posted a screenshot to Twitter:
“I haven’t heard it mention, so I thought I would address the elephant in the room. He seems like a smart kid, so I’m wandering how his transition to the states has been as far as communication goes? Are we doing anything different like special playbooks or relying on signals more when he’s in the game? I thought I saw him point to receivers a couple of times and defenses might catch on if he’s pointing to who he’s going to throw the ball to. The only time I’ve been out of the country is when I was shipped to Nam and I was as confused as a yankee leaning to square dance.”
The commenter seemed concerned for Tagovailoa’s English-speaking abilities in the sense that he didn’t want the opposing team to understand any physical cues he may or may not be giving to teammates, as that could cost them the game. Additionally, the commenter appears to empathize with Tagovailoa’s “situation”, as he relates the quarterback’s experience of being a “foreigner” to his own when he fought in the Vietnam War.
Netizens’ reactions to the comment spanned the gamut between amused and outraged.
Word eventually reached Tagovailoa, who seemed to laugh off the ignorant comment:
What do you think? Really racist or hilariously harmless? Let us know in the comments!
Feature Image via Twitter / Tuaamann_
