After becoming just the second University of Colorado player to win college football’s top honor, wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter had a lot of people to thank.
Hunter received the Heisman Trophy on Saturday in New York City, beating Boise State behind Ashton Jeanty to be named the sport’s best player for 2024.
In the audience were Hunter’s family, fiancée and his coach – Deion Sanders. But the internet latched on to one moment in his speech in particular.
After hugging his fiancée – Leanna Lenee – and then his mother – Ferrante Edmonds – and both Deion and Shedeur Sanders, Hunter began his speech.
‘First of all I want to thank God. I never thought I would end up in this position,” Hunter said. ‘It’s crazy. Your faith can go a long way. It’s actually crazy, man. Thank you, thank you, thank you. First of all I would like to thank my fiancé and my mother.’
And it was that last sentence that set social media on fire, as users complained that Hunter thanked Lenee before his mother.
Social media blew up when Travis Hunter thanked his fiancée in front of his mother after winning the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night
Hunter became the second Heisman winner in Colorado history when he defeated Ashton Jeanty
“Congratulations to Travis Hunter. But… to thank your girlfriend before your own mother goes wild..,” wrote a user on X, formerly Twitter.
Another wrote: ‘Travis Hunter thanked his fiancée before his mother.’
‘Travis Hunter thanked his fiancée [sic] before his mother?!,” another user wrote – prompting a number of replies: “What surprised you? At that age that is the only love in his eyes.’
“Travis Hunter thanked his girl before his mom, take that trophy back,” read another post.
Others, however, saw no problem with the order.
“What’s the problem here,” one person asked in response to another user’s outraged criticism.
Meanwhile, another suggested the order should read: “God and your wife before anyone else.”
Lenee has been making headlines in recent weeks of the college football season. After a game against Oklahoma State, the pair appeared to have an argument, with Lenee rebuffing Hunter’s attempt to plant a kiss on her cheek.
Earlier this season, Lenee and Hunter appeared to have an argument after a game
Lenee (L) seemed angry when Hunter took photos with his female fans over the weekend
Hunter and Lenee are getting married next year and have been dating for a while
It prompted Hunter to set the record straight: “A lot of things can happen in the stands, people don’t understand that,” Hunter went on to say ‘The Pivot Podcast’.
“She might look annoyed at me, but at the same time there are a lot of things she has to deal with during the game. There are a lot of things people don’t see through the camera.’
“I just let people talk,” Hunter continued. “Me, I’m a big troller, so I just troll the internet. I really don’t care what they think or what they say about us so I’m just going to go ahead and troll. They talk about her, I post her to make them even angrier than they already are, so they try to find something to hate, try to find something to break our relationship, but there’s nothing, there’s nothing you can do it because I love my wife.’
‘She is the closest to everything, she helped me with everything. It’s hard sometimes, but she’s always there.’
During the lead-up to the Heisman ceremony, Lenee appeared upset with Hunter as he took photos with female fans at a planned event.
Hunter and Lenee have been together for several years and their wedding is planned for next year.
Hunter won the Heisman Trophy by the narrowest margin since 2009, narrowly beating Jeanty for the honor. He became the second Colorado player to take home the award, joining the late Rashaan Salaam, who won the award in 1994.
He is also the first Heisman winner to play some defense to take home the award since Hall of Famer Charles Woodson in 1997. Woodson was a safety at Michigan who also returned punts and played wide receiver.
No purely defensive player has ever won the award. The closest defensive player has ever come to winning the Heisman was Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o in 2012, who finished second to Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manzeil.