In the aftermath of Travis Hunter winning the Heisman Trophy, one of the biggest storylines hasn’t centered on his legacy at the college level or prospects in the pros. Rather, it’s been his personal relationship with his fiancée.
After the Colorado cornerback/wide receiver thanked his fiancée, Leanna Lenee, throughout his acceptance speech on Saturday night, she proceeded to find herself the subject of criticism. Such critiques stemmed from a series of viral videos, including ones that showed her seemingly upset following the Buffaloes’ final regular season game, seemingly disinterested as Hunter received the Heisman Trophy, and seemingly annoyed as he posed for pictures with fans during a sponsorship event.
The backlash even reached the point that both Hunter and Lenee responded to it in separate videos on social media. That, however, didn’t stop Shannon Sharpe from adding to the pile on during Monday’s episode of Nightcap, as he took issue with Lenee’s response, in which she revealed that Hunter had first approached her when he was dating someone else and that he initially wasn’t her “type.”
“You don’t have to share everything! People, you don’t!” Sharpe emphasized. “It’s none of my business, but it paints you in a bad light. Oh he wasn’t your type? But now, ‘He is my type.’ Well, it seems like your type might be George Washington, Ben Franklin, Ulysses Grant. It might be some of those types.”
Sharpe admitted that Hunter wasn’t likely to listen to his — or anyone else’s — opinion when it comes to his dating life. But that didn’t stop him from continuing to address Lenee’s comments, framing his own criticism as advice.
“I just don’t think, ma’am, you need to have this. Because you were trending — Trav won the Heisman, you didn’t win no award,” Sharpe said. “We shouldn’t be having to have this conversation about you. Y’all chose to be together. You’re young. Travis is young.”
While Sharpe and Johnson certainly have unique perspectives when it comes to dealing with relationships and fame, their conversation drew plenty of its own criticism — including from Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin. Gold digger accusations aside, Sharpe’s point seemed to be that being in the public spotlight means being susceptible to such criticism — including from himself, apparently.
[Nightcap]
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.