An infestation has plagued modern society at large, and the College Football bubble hasn’t been immune from it. The advent of social media has only fanned the flames of this epidemic. It’s the dangerously prevalent and often fallacious notion that the private lives of public-facing figures’ are up for discourse. An ancillary branch that stems from this is that almost prejudicial judgements are passed with very little to no reasonability. Unfortunately, this infestation showed face to Travis Hunter during perhaps the biggest week of his young life.

Travis Hunter, the unicorn ranked no.1 overall in his class, has fulfilled his potential. In fact, he’s transcended beyond the figurative glass ceiling footballers had yet to breach. His 2-way escapades have won him the Heisman Trophy. Yet, this achievement has come parallel to a lot of lamentable dialogue about his private life. Travis and his fiance Leanna Lenee’s relationship has been marred with adversity from the onset of his career. However, the odd comment on social media has transpired into a national controversy. Leanna has been smeared with a lot of targeted hate for her perceived past.

In the past week or so, old pictures and excerpts from videos have surfaced that allegedly hint at Leanna Lenee’s infidelity towards Travis Hunter. This revelation added fuel to his fan’s pre-existent disdain for their relationship. In light of these surfacing, ex-NFL player Dez Bryant took to X to share “advice” for Travis. In a now-deleted post, he began by saying, “I’ve tried my best not to get into Travis’ business,” before dropping a scathing take on his fiance. He outright told Travis, in a public forum, that “she’s not the 1”. In the backwash of this comment, there was natural frustration over Dez Bryant using his massive platform (3.4M followers) to speak on such a sensitive topic.

Coach Jason Brown, famous for Netflix’s Last Chance U documentary, weighed in on Bryant’s involvement. JB took to his namesake YouTube channel to say, “These guys are all connected in the same circle. Dez Bryant played for the Cowboys. I guarantee he has Deion Sanders’ phone number. I guarantee he could have reached out to Travis Hunter privately and told him what he tweeted out publicly. You’re trying to increase your brand.” he said. Coach JB pointed to how Bryant contradicted his own words. “I’m not going to make a tweet about it and say, ‘Hey man, I want to stay out of it. But…’ Nah. Then stay out of it, Dez Bryant”.

JB isn’t the only one who perceived Bryant’s post as an attempt to “chase clout”. Travis Hunter’s teammate Shedeur Sanders also responded to him, albeit indirectly. “All y’all athletes, entertainers, artist etc if y’all genuine trying to holla at trav y’all know how to get in touch with him or someone around. At this point y’all just posting for the algorithm trying to look cool” said Shedeur via X. It is worth pointing out that Travis has deleted his Instagram since this stuff picked up steam.There is no way around saying this. The social media verse is outright trying to separate the couple. This isn’t the first time Leanna and the relationship has been under scrutiny. 

Travis Hunter’s relationship has been looked down upon by the masses for a while

This widespread introspection about the couple became mainstream after the Heisman ceremony. When he was announced as the winner and called upon the stage, a celebratory Travis Hunter walked towards his fiance, his mother, and his coach, Deion Sanders, who were seated adjacent. 

Leanna didn’t stand up on her feet very promptly to greet him. Deion could be seen having to instigate her to do so. This momentary exchange over a lapse of judgment sparked a hating spree towards an unassuming Leanna Lenee. Even before this event, right from the onset of their relationship, is the crux of this whole ordeal. Leanna has been vocal about her not instantly taking a liking to Travis when they first met, saying he “Wasn’t her type”. His fans and well-wishers are convinced, likely incorrectly, that she’s with him for some ulterior motives. 

It wouldn’t be controversial to say that judging Travis Hunter and his fiance’s relationship based on some scattered clips and assumptions is unjust. The discourse and those partaking in it cannot be absolved. One hopes the young adults are coping aptly with this. Travis has brushed aside criticism of his relationship in the past, and even doubled down. Leanna was even featured in his Adidas campaign. However, with him deleting IG it appears the hate has now affected him.