He was very gracious in explaining that.

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

"Wait, you said what?"😂😂😂

I appreciate his clarification

"I'm from Virginia. I'm not a Virgin." "Explain the difference then"

He is really an ambassador for our Polynesian families

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

You can include Māoris from New Zealand too.

“If you look it up” 😂

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

I'm from Washington State, we have tons of Polynesians over here. Some of the best people I've known.

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....

Hank Hill: So are you Chinese or Japanese?

I loved how he assumes the best in people by just treating it as a sort of funny misunderstanding and then explaining to us all the proper terms. He has got a gift besides sports!

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.

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

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

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

The reporter could have been more gracious in asking instead of demanding. Manners make the gentleman.

If you're part of the group of people that watch this video over three times.... let's gather here😂

“I’m from Mississippi. I don’t miss shit “ 😂

When the teacher explains to the student in the proper way

For those who still don’t understand, “Hawaiian” is an ethnicity. That’s why people who from Hawaii but aren’t ethnically Hawaiian don’t call themselves Hawaiian. They say they’re from Hawaii. “Hawaiian” is reserved for those who are ethnically Hawaiian.

Proud to hear Fiji mentioned by an NFL athlete. Just a note; Fijians are Melanesians. Although to be fair, we have a great Polynesian influence in some islands in Fiji like the Lau group. It was conquered by Ma’afu from Tonga.

Fiji is an interesting one. Technically that’s Melanesia, but shout out to Tua for recognizing the Cook Islands. Also good for him setting the record straight. As a Samoan there is no way he could let that comment slide

That alone has caused me to research the culture and area to learn more.

That’s just laziness in part of the reporter. Good on Tua to educate not only the reporter but the public.

It’s wild how many times I have had to explain the difference. I was born in Hawaii, I am not Hawaiian.

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. 🤙🏼🌺

I’m telling you, the distinction between ethnicity and nationality is so important. It helps you navigate more clearly the nuance in a lot of tough social conversations today.

I was born in Hawaii and I get comments like this. I have to explain to people that I’m am not Hawaiian. My family immigrated from the Philippines and I’m Filipino.

"explain the difference" There's this thing called Google that he should have used quietly in the comfort of his home.

"Wait you said what? " I like this guy. Very kind to not get mad and offer an explanation.

Respect for answering the question. Actually learned something new too

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

I'm not Hispanic, I was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, my mother is from Spain, my father is from Colombia 😅

That was a cool moment by the reporter and player. Both class acts. Learned something new today!

If you’re born and raised in Hawaii, you understand that only ppl who have Hawaiian blood are referred to as “Hawaiian”. Just because I was born and raised in Hawaii doesn’t make me “Hawaiian” I’m Japanese American raised in Hawaii.🤷🏻‍♀️

I liked that he explained it, I don't think many folks in the mainland usa know anything about the people that inhabit or are from hawaii. It has an interesting history

the "if you look it up" was daggers

Nicely done by him. Respectful and not defensive or condescending.

I'm actually glad the reporter asked him to explain the difference..... Because it's rare to actually learn something new from a press conference interaction 👏🏾💯 Edit: I was going to respond to some of the comments in my thread.... But their are much too may ridiculously unhinged statements to respond to... So I'll say this: NOTHING I STATED IN MY COMMENT WARRANTS ANY NEGATIVE FEEDBACK... IT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE SENSE FOR ANYONE TO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH WHAT I SAID WHATSOEVER... THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THERE ARE SO MANY OUT OF LEFT FIELD RESPONSES TO MY COMMENT, FURTHER SHOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE TRULY OPERATE STRICTLY OFF OF A NEED TO OPPOSE...) Much appreciation to all of the likes and positive responses tho❤️

Thank you for explaining that, I didn't know 😊

I’m a Bostonian and I was stationed at Pearl from 06-14 as a submariner. I embraced the 808 and aloha spirit, and have tattoos dedicated to my adopted state of hawai’i. I still have an 808 area code. Respect the ‘Aina! There’s a difference between native Hawai’ians and people from Hawai’i!

That's why that Polynesian Sauce is 🔥. The whole triangle is in on it.

Love the feedback from Tua. Educate my brother 🙏

My husband was Tahitian, a Pacific Islander. He was Polynesian.

Glad that he explained people need to know the difference from being an ethnic native vs just a native of a particular land mass

Respect to the reporter for genuinely asking the difference and wanting to be educated on it, and respect to Tua for willingly education the reporter on his culture 🤙🏽

There’s some wonderful linguistic and cultural diversity across the Polynesian cultures. I played rugby with many Tongans, Samoans, Fijians, etc. Inspiring athletes, hard hitters, fast on their feet, loyal to the end, and their singing voices sounded like heaven.

When I was in college, I had a Hawaiian friend. He explained all of this to me. I used to go visit and stay with him and his family in Hawaii. I really learned the difference between Hawaiians and ither Polynesians. Till today I try to explain this to people, But they don't believe me. Just because a Samoan is born in Hawaii, and says he's Hawaiian. He isn't really Hawaiian.

Reporter: let me tell people I’m not smart without telling them I’m not smart. 🤦🏽‍♀️😂

It was nice to hear the guy just ask him to clarify. And he did, with no fuss. Just a normal conversation

I appreciate this whole interaction.

Example: If your from Australia but your not a native Australian, you wouldn’t call yourself an Aboriginal. If your from New Zealand and your not a native New Zealander you wouldn’t call your self Māori He’s from Hawaii but he’s not native Hawaiian Hope this makes sense 🙏

Man sighed like “here we go again”

"If you look it up!" Lmao😅

Love the “he answered so respectfully” comments. He replied with respect because he was asked with respect. The reporter politely asked him to explain the difference with the intention of LEARNING and UNDERSTANDING, not out of a place of ignorance or irreverence.

That was very respectful to Hawwii

I’m a New Yorker, but not really I’m a New Yorka. Because Yorka’s have an A in their first names. It’s a real difference and you better get it right

It's funny that this just came up, actually, since I (Hawaiian, not from Hawaii) just learned earlier today that if you're born in the Hawaiian Islands, you're called Kama'aina (or child of the land), while if you're of Native Hawaiian / indigenous descent, you're called Kanaka Maoli. I knew they were separate but didn't actually know the specific linguistic terms in Hawaiian, which was cool. It's not a distinction that the media talks about much, so it's nice to hear Tua shed some light on it. P.S. For the record, I don't think it's technically wrong to say that Tua is Hawaiian in an informal sense; I've referred to him with that among my family, usually with a follow-up like the one he uses here (i.e. from Hawaii); it's just important imo to recognize that there are multiple distinct uses of the word (e.g. "from Hawaii" vs. "of Hawaiian descent"). Also, I know you could argue that nobody technically is a native of Hawaii given migration patterns, etc, etc; but that seems rather beside the point; such an incredibly strict definition renders the term arguably meaningless, and arguing over those kinds of things leads nowhere. Someone not being of native Hawaiian descent does not make them less, and someone being of that descent does not make them more; and in my experience I don't think I've met people who think otherwise. Those people certainly exist, but I've never gotten the sense that they're anything more than fringe. I'm not looking to get into political mud-fighting, so I think that's where I'll leave it.

"What do you mean you're not Hawaiian?" "My family wasn't living there when Dole colonized it for pineapples." 😂

Much respect to him.

The reporter asked him to explain thinking he wasn't informed in what he was speaking on😂😂

He is correct and kudos for pointing out the difference. A Hawaiian is indigenous to the island chain that is now the state of Hawaii. People that live there are very aware that only certain people are called Hawaiians. Residents of the state of Hawaii aren't necessarily Hawaiian.

Liked that he respectfully and thoroughly explained Polynesian

Love how respectful and thoughtful this young man is.

Learned this today about being Polynesian. Thanks for the education.

The state of Hawaii is one of the most diverse places on earth. Good answer.

Sometimes when I go to Chik Fil A I ask for Hawaiian sauce and get the same reaction

I love “if you look it up”!!! ❤

Samoan have some of the coolest Brothers out their

Bless up 🙌🏽 for a Polynesian voice setting the record straight on a national stage! We Hawaiians thank you for your educating the masses!

This really is the feeling when there is a native group with a strong tie to where you were born or where you grew up. I spent most of my life in Alaska and I’ve had people ask if I’m Alaskan or even say I’m a native Alaskan without realizing that no in fact I’m not. I’m from Alaska. I’m not an Alaskan and certainly not a Native Alaskan.

Thank you for explaining! I'm from Ohio, but my ethnicity is not Ohioan 🤷🏾‍♀️

Respect to the reporter for asking him to explain

The tip of the Polynesian triangle starts at Hawaii, goes down to the bottom left to New Zealand (The Polynesian name for the Islands is Aotearoa, and the peoples are the Māori) goes across to the right to Easter Island (It’s Polynesian name being Rapanui) and includes the islands of Tahiti, Cook Islands, Samoa etc. Fiji is part of Melanesian. New Zealand also has an Island called Maui

See this is the stuff that genuinely helps people that really don't know the difference.

Reporter is referring to location. Tua is referring to Ethnicity. Like I'm a Wisconsinite but I'm not an ethnic Wisconsinite because there is no such thing. The confusion point is that Hawaii/Hawaiian is both a place and a culture/ethnicity/language.

I applaud this reporter for respectfully asking Tua this question. He ask solely on gaining education on the subject.

Love how respectful he is honoring the heritage.

“You said what?”…..universal 😂❤❤ nice 👍

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.

Thats why asking questions, caring, and being interested is important

Obviosly missing some context here but it seemed like the reporter was teeing Tua up specifically to correct the misconception. What an oddly satisfying human interaction

I didn't know the difference, thanks for the explanation!

These investigative journalists really should do some “investigating,”before asking questions.

Another way to explain it is who we'd call a (native) Hawaiian is someone of Hawaiian bloodline ancestry. Someone born and raised in Hawaii but not of Hawaiian ancestry is considered local or Kama'aina.

Tua was pure class at Bama. Got to watch him play multiple times.

Thank you for educating us 😊

❤ He explained that very well, you learn something every day, and today we learned that the (Native) inhabitants of Hawaii are called Polynesian, not Hawaiian.

Tuas a class act. Love this dude.

"I'm Hawaiian, but I don't taste like pineapple" "Ok, explain the difference then"

People who have not lived there say this a lot. I lived in Hawaii 4 years ... Some thought I was Samoan ... I'm black from London living in TX ... they say I'm English ... NOPE! I'm British and NOT African American!

Educate them!❤

No disrespect with the question, and a great answer.

I swear The American Educational System is an EMBARRASSMENT!!

The young man is awesome. The reporter needs some education.

Yikes. So ignorant not to know the difference. 🤦‍♀️ Hawaiians are sovereign people, like the Alaskans and the Native Americans. Their such a strong ethnic group they are known for their tribes. ❤ I'm a Norwegian decendant born in America who had the PRIVILEGE to live in Hawaii for 4 years; I will never be Hawaiian but I am very grateful that i was a welcomed guest of their culture. ❤ Proud of this young man for correcting this "reporter" who should have known better.

My next question would have been can you explain polynesian sauce 🤔😂