Tua set the record straight

Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailia explains to a reporter the difference of being Hawaiian vs. being from Hawaii. (via @MiamiDolphins)

[oliviabrown]

He was very gracious in explaining that.

[dambroangling]

"I'm from Virginia. I'm not a Virgin."

"Explain the difference then"

[j.sineduce]

All Hawaiians are Polynesians, not all Polynesians are Hawaiian. He or his family are more than likely from Samoa. I can see the semantics when someone says they are from a place but not a native. Tua is technically an American-Samoan who recognizes his Polynesian heritage and grew up in Hawaii.

[jonesjobe]

My ex-roommate is Tua's cousin. Learned a lot about Samoan culture living and talking with him. He had a rougher upbringing than Tua, but I'm so proud of how far he's made it. He's in bootcamp as we speak. Much love Costa Chan

[Raidyn]

Hearing him shoutout the Cook Islands was wholesome ❤ we usually get overlooked lol love and respect to our Polynesian brother Tua 💪🏽🔥

[lionsroar]

He is really an ambassador for our Polynesian families

[sawolaja]

Loved that he corrected and schooled the reporter on his ethnicity so so politely and graciously ❤

[myrajuju]

“Wait, you said what?”….universal 😂❤❤ nice 👍

[Sheadon._]

For everyone who's still confused, He says he is from hawaii because he was born and raised in Ewa Beach, His bloodline is mainly samoan and other polyneisan ancestry but he does not have hawaiian blood

[kykrizmanic]

100%!! I was born in Hawaii, but I am also not Hawaiian. We respect Hawaiian culture to understand the difference.

[anitahensley]

This guy actually asked another man to explain that not everyone in Hawaii is Hawaiian. That should highlight the ignorance of some. We literally have a computer in our hands and this guy had to ask and get schooled.

[pirelative]

I love how he didn't get disrespected and just actually answered

[albertoblanco]

I had a giant Samoan homie in High-school explain the whole Polynesian situation when he found out i was dating a Hawaiian girl. He gave me solid info, she and i have 2 kids now and been together since 2001.
Thanks Stanley where ever you are....

[JohnDoe-cdro]

That's like saying "I'm from Cuba, but I'm not Cuban. I'm Caribbean."

[miram]

If only non south africans from south Africa understood this.

[KraceeSteez]

Tua is actually Samoan who’s family actually lives in Hawaii . Proud of the uso 🇼🇸🇦🇸

[MethodDaMadness]

Hank Hill: So are you Chinese or Japanese?

[Gk]

Tua was born and raised in Hawaii. He’s Hawaiian whether he knows it or not.

[MrJohansen]

This would be like me saying "im not American, im anglo saxon". Both are true, and its autistic to get upset about someone pointing out your nationality

[monti]

Tua is of Samoan decent, born and raised in Hawaii. He is not Hawaiian.
Samoa and Hawaii are just two of the many islands that make up Polynesia (which Tua mentions him being Polynesian).
Polynesian is the group name for Samoans (players like Tua, Mariota, Juju, Puka Nacua, Troy Polamalu, Junior Seau), Tongans (players like Vita Vea, Talanoa Hufanga, Tuli Tuipulotu, Haloti Ngata), Hawaiians (players like Kevin Mawae, Vince Manuwai), etc. just like how Asian is the group name for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino etc.
Polynesia is one of three regions in the South Pacific and consists of many islands such as Samoa 🇦🇸🇼🇸, Tonga 🇹🇴, Hawaii, Tahiti 🇵🇫, New Zealand 🇳🇿 etc. However, Fiji 🇫🇯 falls under Melanesia (another of the three regions, the third being Micronesia).
But still, all three regions are similar to each other in cultural customs, beliefs and backgrounds and their dialects sound pretty similar.

I hope this helped any of those who didn't quite understand what Tua was trying to explain. 🤙🏼🌺