‘Apologize for stealing a moment’: Gee and Ursula call out NFL, Druski over butchering Smith-Njigba
Feb 6, 2026, 5:53 PM | Updated: 5:53 pm
Jaxon Smith-Njigba was named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, but the award was almost overshadowed when comedian Druski butchered his name during the ceremony.
Why did they make Druski try to pronounce Jaxon Smith-Njigba? 😅pic.twitter.com/be4NRDs02t
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) February 6, 2026
KIRO host Ursula Reutin noted Druski could have easily used the star player’s nickname, JSN.
“Dude, you could have called him JSN — if you really were confused, which I don’t think you were — just say JSN, which you eventually did anyway. But to even go that route …,” Ursula said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.
“In such a big moment, too,” KIRO fill-in host Angela Poe Russell chimed in. “To get Offensive Player of the Year in the league, huge moment.”
Gee demands verbal apology from NFL, Druski
KIRO host Gee Scott called on the NFL, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and Druski to apologize to Smith-Njigba.
“Apologize for stealing a moment last night at the NFL honors. You stole a moment from Jaxon Smith-Njigba. You stole a moment from his father, Maada Smith-Njigba. You stole a moment from his brother, Canaan Smith-Njigba. You stole a moment from his mother, Jami,” Gee said.
“You stole a moment from the people of Rockwall, Texas. You stole a moment from the Seattle Seahawks organization. You stole a moment for the teammates of Jaxon Smith-Njigba. You stole a moment from Seahawks fans all over the world. An apology, not a statement, a verbal apology,” he continued.
Angela said she absolutely agreed with Gee.
“Names for so many people mean something, especially when you are, like most of us, descendants of immigrants,” she said. “And for him, whose grandfather came here from Sierra Leone, changed his name to Smith so he could fit in, and to have Jaxon reclaim that name in high school, to reclaim the name and say, I am Jaxon Smith-Njigba.”
Angela added that so many hosts of events think the event is about themselves.
Ursula said there are ways to prepare for events so that names aren’t mispronounced.
‘Does someone at the top like this kind of thing?’ Angela questions NFL’s choice of host
Angela agreed and believed the NFL should have chosen a different person for the job.
“There are many African American hosts, MCs in this country, and time and time and again, some of these large organizations choose to go with people who perhaps aren’t always the best person for the job,” she said.
“I look at how even NBC has just embraced Snoop Dogg as their Olympic correspondent. ‘Oh, my God, he’s funny.’ And it’s like, do you see what he talks about in his music? Do you see how he called Gayle King the B word?” she continued. “Of all the people in the country that you could pick to have this role, that is who you pick. And at some point, I have to think, do you like this? Does someone at the top like this kind of thing? Because a lot of us do not, and we do not ask for this.”
“A great point,” Ursula responded. “And to the folks who are saying, ‘Well, you know, it’s not even that hard to say.’ You know what? It can be tricky to say, but that’s not what it was about. And the NFL needs to do better, and Druski needs to do better.”
Druski wrote on Instagram, “NOBODY TOLD ME HOW TO PRONOUNCE ‘Jaxon Smith-Njigba’ (laughing and crying emojis) CONGRATS THOUGH !”
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.
