Tua Tagovailoa reacts to President Donald Trump’s pronunciation of name: ‘I heard worse in Alabama’
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Tua Tagovailoa shook off President Donald Trump severely botching his name last week the way he shakes off would-be tacklers in the open field.
The former Alabama star and current Miami Dolphins quarterback did it with a smile and a care-free attitude because he’s quite used to his name being botched a little or a lot. Tagovailoa was appointed by Trump last week to his Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, and at the signing ceremony of the executive order, the President had a bit of a hard time with Tagovailoa’s name, like many have in the past.
Almost a week later, it was time for Tagovailoa to answer the serious questions about how he ended up on Trump’s council and the light-hearted question about the whole name pronunciation thing. Tagovailoa, a legend at Alabama, gave a legendary response to reporters’ questions on Trump that came complete with his own impersonation of the President.
“I don’t think he’s had the worst (pronunciation). I’ve heard a couple worse at Alabama. It is what it is. I don’t take that to heart. I liked it. I enjoyed it,” said Tagovailoa on Wednesday morning.
Here is the full clip of Tagovailoa’s serious — and humorous — response:
Tagovailoa added that it was an honor to be named to the council, although he didn’t claim to know too much about it, at least right now. What he did know was that his name that’s awfully hard to pronounce claimed another victim, and a notable one at that.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
