Heisman winner Travis Hunter defends fiancée Leanna Lenee after attacks

Heisman winner Travis Hunter defends fiancée Leanna Lenee after attacks

  • Travis Hunter defended his fiancée Leanna Lenee from fans after they criticized her behavior during his Heisman Trophy celebration
  • Hunter said Lenee drank and cried herself to sleep after the backlash
  • The Colorado Buffaloes star said the negativity hurt him too and urged fans to end the “hatred” towards Lenee

Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter spoke out in support of his fiancée Leanna Lenee after fans criticized her behavior on social media.

Hunter, 21, told viewers on Twitch that his fiancée cried herself to sleep and drank an “odee amount” – slang for “extreme” or “a lot” – of alcohol after the backlash began after the star of the Colorado Buffaloes won the prestigious College Football Award on Saturday, December 14th.

“You know the pain when you just cry yourself to sleep,” Hunter said during his Twitch stream a day later, adding that Lenee was “asleep” and he didn’t want her to “fall asleep sad” after she I drank so much.

Fans first began questioning Lenee after video from the Heisman ceremony showed Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders leaning over to tell Lenee to stand up after Hunter’s name was called.

The backlash then increased when another video showed Hunter taking photos with fans at a pop-up event in New York City after the Heisman ceremony, while Lenee sat and appeared frustrated with how long Hunter was with the fans spent.

“What should I do? Then I just sit here,” Lenee appeared to say in the video shared by a fan.

Travis Hunter with his fiancée Leanna Lenee.

Travis Hunter/Instagram


But Hunter quickly quashed that narrative on his Twitch stream, saying that Lenee’s behavior was justified and that she was helping keep his family occupied while he spent time with fans.

“That’s why she said she would stay there. Some of them wanted to go back to the hotel, some of them didn’t,” Hunter explained during the stream.

“I know what I have. I know my girl. My girl has been with me for five years,” Hunter said. “You guys are just starting to talk about me and be with me. Come on, man.”

Hunter also warned the “clickbait sites” not to post content that suggests there is trouble for the couple or that “something bad is going to happen,” Hunter said.

“You’re going to hate me, and then you’re going to hate my girl. I feel the same pain she does,” Hunter said. “We are inseparable (sic), we are together. If it hurts her, of course I will too.”

The backlash came just a week after Hunter defended Lenee when the comedian Godfrey said “something is wrong” with her attitude, based on a video in which Lenee said Hunter wasn’t “her type” before they met .

“You know her? No so don’t talk about my relationship dude, move on with your life,” Hunter wrote in the comments on Godfrey’s video.

University of Colorado cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter poses with the trophy during the Heisman Trophy press conference at the Marriott Marquis on December 14, 2024 in New York, New York.

Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty


Hunter won the Heisman Trophy, awarded each year to the best player in college football, during the annual ceremony at Lincoln Center in New York City on December 14.

During his acceptance speech, the football star became particularly emotional as he called out his father, Travis Hunter Sr.

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“I want to say something to my father. He’s not here. But I know you’re watching on TV,” he said through tears.

“Dad, I love you. What you’ve been through, man. Now look at your eldest son. I did it for you, man. All the times you can’t see me and the times you came to watch my games. From probably playing two games in high school to seeing me on TV every weekend and visiting me, man, it means so much to me.”

“I know you wanted to be here and you can’t, but trust me, I’ve got you,” he concluded. “I’m bringing the trophy home. I love you.”

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