Veteran Jacksonville Jaguars radio voice Brian Sexton found himself in an awkward moment during the team’s first preseason contest against the New Orleans Saints.
While coordinating a sideline interview with Jaguars defensive end Travon Walker for reporter Brent Martineau, Sexton unintentionally uttered the name Trayvon Martin.
“Let’s head to the sidelines,” Sexton declared in the fourth quarter, “and hear from Brent Martineau with Trayvon Martin.”
Martineau then kicked off the interview by addressing Walker by his actual name, which served as Sexton’s realization moment about the error.
Sexton immediately corrected himself, saying “Travon Walker,” prompting a brief chuckle from Martineau.
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Video footage of the awkward moment from the television broadcast is available below.
Back in February 2012, the killing of Martin in Sanford, Florida, about two hours from Jacksonville, drew worldwide attention.
Martin, a Black 17-year-old who was unarmed, was shot by George Zimmerman, who was 28 at the time, after Zimmerman pursued the teenager while Martin was walking home from a shopping stop near a gas station.
Zimmerman, with prosecutors arguing that he unjustly profiled Martin as a criminal, was charged with second-degree murder as well as manslaughter. However, a jury of six women, five of whom were White, acquitted Zimmerman by accepting his self-defense claim.
The controversial trial and its verdict sparked outrage and protests across the United States, and Martin’s name and image continue to evoke strong emotions more than a decade later.
“I was waiting for an apology, but they kept on going as soon as they returned to the booth,” wrote an X user, PremierNasir904, about Sexton’s on-air misstep mentioning Martin.
“Love Brian Sexton, but I can’t believe you thought of that name so many years later,” added another X user, thatHotToast.
Sexton is preparing for his 33rd NFL season behind the microphone. He became the Jaguars’ “Voice of the Jaguars” on radio broadcasts in October 1994, and he began handling play-by-play for the team’s preseason games in 2017, according to the Daily News Network.
Walker was selected No. 1 overall by the Jaguars in the 2022 NFL draft. The defensive lineman helped the University of Georgia end a 41-year championship drought by winning the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2022 before entering the professional ranks.
Walker is set to begin his fifth season with the Jaguars in 2026. In April, he agreed to a four-year, $110 million contract extension with the franchise, a deal that could keep him in Jacksonville through the 2030-31 NFL campaign.
That development means Sexton may have cause to pronounce Walker’s name even more often in the years ahead—and let’s hope he keeps delivering it correctly from here on out.
