Comedian Druski turned what should have been a celebration into controversy Thursday night at the NFL Honors ceremony.
The social media personality was tasked with presenting the Offensive Player of the Year award to Seattle Seahawks receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But his multiple attempts at pronouncing the player’s name included using a racial slur on live television. Druski initially got the pronunciation correct.
Then he offered several variations, including one that contained the N-word. He ended the segment by simply saying “JSN” before leaving the stage.
The moment happened during NBC’s broadcast from San Francisco. NFL legend Barry Sanders stood next to Druski and visibly grimaced when the comedian mispronounced the name.
Watched JSN put his blood, sweat, and tears into a historic season just for Druski to announce his award ✌️ pic.twitter.com/bSUn0776lH
— ᴅᴏxx ⚡️ (@new_era72) February 6, 2026
Seattle linebacker Uchenna Nwosu called out the comedian directly. “Druski lame,” Nwosu wrote on X. His teammates and fans quickly rallied behind the criticism.
More than anything, I believe this vulgar moment from Druski at the NFL Awards was 1,000,000x worse than Tiffany Haddish screwing up Mike Vrable’s name… The NFL is really dropping the ball Super Bowl week,” one user fumed.
Between this and Druski, the NFL gotta do better about going over phonetics and pronunciation eith presenters on how to say players and coaches’ names 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️ pic.twitter.com/N2zXf0vC6H
— Ro4Sho (@ro4sho_) February 6, 2026
Smith-Njigba had an exceptional 2025 season. He caught 119 passes for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns. The third-year receiver helped lead Seattle to Super Bowl LX, where they’ll face the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The NFL Honors ceremony was meant to celebrate the season’s best performers. But Druski’s moment overshadowed many of the night’s achievements.
This isn’t Druski’s first controversial moment. Five months ago, he faced criticism for appearing in whiteface during a NASCAR event skit. He walked around the Southern 500 race in South Carolina, wearing a fake sunburn, a mullet, and overalls, while putting on a Southern accent.
The NFL Honors ceremony will air again before Sunday’s Super Bowl. Whether NBC edits out Druski’s controversial moment remains to be seen.
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