Controversial Shohei Ohtani claim from top NFL prospect leaves fans agitated: "Head trauma kicking in early"

Two-way stars are rare in both baseball and football. Three-time MVP and Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani does well on both sides, pitching and hitting. In fact, he's so good in the latter, that despite being a DH, he earned himself a unanimous MVP win last season.

Meanwhile, when it comes to football, reigning Heisman winner Travis Hunter is a name that comes to mind. Playing for the Colorado Buffaloes in 2024, Hunter did incredibly well on both sides of the ball as a cornerback and a wide receiver.

However, he made a controversial comment about Ohtani on Thursday when asked whether what he does in football is harder than what the Japanese superstar does in baseball.

"Ohtani he is a great player but you gotta do a lot in football," Hunter said ahead of his upcoming 2025 NFL draft.

View on TikTok

This dude really thought it would be smart to downplay Ohtani. byu/Executive-111 inDodgers

As soon as the MLB fans learned about it, they took to Reddit and slammed the projected top pick for going way above his head into thinking that way.

"I see the head trauma is kicking in early on this one," one fan commented, cracking joke on football injuries.

Comment byu/Executive-111 from discussion inDodgers

"Oh man early sign of CTE," another wrote.

"From a guy who’s still at the collegiate level," another added, citing Hunter is yet to turn pro.

One fan spoke about Coach Prime once saying the hardest thing to do in life is hit the "damn baseball."

"lol Deion Sanders, his coach, has said the hardest thing he’s had to do in sports is hit the baseball," another fan added.

"Pitching and hitting are essentially two separate sports. WR and DB are far closer," another shared his opinion.

"Well, thinking is definitely a challenge for Travis," another took a dig at Hunter.

NFL analyst vouches for Travis Hunter to play both sides, citing Shohei Ohtani's success

Ahead of the upcoming NFL draft, Travis Hunter's future role is uncertain. It will largely depend on which team would sign him in the draft.

While Hunter has been bullish on the idea of continuing to play both as a cornerback and wide receiver, much like how Shohei Ohtani does, both hitting and pitching, several analysts have pushed back on the idea to make the Colorado standout play both ways.

However, NFL analyst Rob Parker wants the team that drafts Hunter to give him an opportunity to do his way in his rookie season at least, citing the success of Ohtani in the majors.

"They should absolutely give him a chance at doing it his first year...you don't stop a prodigy, I mean Shohei Ohtani has been doing it for years," Parker said via Fox Sports Radio.

It remains to be seen whether Hunter's wish to continue playing both sides of the ball will be fulfilled. NFL teams can take a page out of the Shohei Ohtani playbook and devise a plan for the Heisman winner.