Indiana high school athlete Noah Knigga has been getting a ton of press for things other than what he can do on the football field.
Knigga has attracted attention in recent weeks over his controversial surname.
The junior from Lawrenceburg is a two-sport star already getting interest from Division I colleges but nobody is paying any attention to his talent right now.
Knigga, a junior at Lawrenceburg High School, recently told Heisman Trophy winner and ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III in an interview posted on Instagram that his surname’s spelling has tripped many people up.
Griffin starts the clip by asking the family of four if they’ve ever been to Paris, which was a funny reference to the 2011 Jay-Z and Kanye West hit ‘N—–s in Paris.’ The family stated that they had never been there.
Noah then explains to Griffin the correct pronunciation of the family name.
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“You say, Ka-Nay-Gah,” the younger Knigga said.
Ryan Knigga, Noah’s father and a football coach, says people have never made a big deal about the family name, but “I’ve had a few guys come up to me and say, ‘Hey, what’s up with this?'”
Griffin also gave the family an idea for a T-shirt: “I think you guys should make a few shirts that say ‘Knigga Please.'”
Griffin is one of the best college football players of all-time, winning the Heisman Trophy in 2011. He went on to play eight seasons in the NFL with the then-Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens.
Even though he hasn’t officially retired, he now works as a college football analyst for ESPN.
