Mendoza also delivered a touching speech, in which he thanked all his family members, coaches, and the team at Indiana. However, for a part of his speech, Mendoza switched to Spanish.
Here’s why he made the switch, and what he exactly said during the time.
Fernando Mendoza speech: What did he say in Spanish?
Mendoza switched to Spanish when he was addressing his grandparents, Alberto and Alicia Espinoza. Mendoza is of Cuban origin, and his family all came over the US. Given that Spanish is the national language of the country, and would perhaps be more familiar to his grandparents than English, the 22-year-old switched to it when addressing them.
“Fernando Mendoza spoke in Spanish for his grandparents in his Heisman winning speech,” ESPN noted, sharing the excerpt of his speech.
Our Esquina, which says it amplifies Latino voices in the sports world, provided a translation on X. “For the love and sacrifice of my parents and grandparents, I love you a lot. From all my heart, I thank you,” Mendoza said, as per the translation.
Elsewhere in the speech, Mendoza thanked his mother whose resilience he’s earlier credited in helping shape his mentality. He also thanked his brother for being upfront and his father for keeping him grounded.
“I’m at a loss for words. Thank you to everybody. I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to chase a dream that once felt a world away. Standing here tonight, holding this (trophy), representing Indiana University still doesn’t feel real. If you told me as a kid in Miami that I’d be here on stage holding this prestigious trophy, I probably would have laughed, cried like I’m doing now or both. Because this moment, it’s an honor. It’s bigger than me. It’s a product of a family, team, community and a whole bunch of people who believed in me long before anybody knew my name,” he said in the six-minute speech.
Mendoza ended in a highly positive note, sending out a message to the youth of the country. “I want every kid out there who feels overlooked, underestimated to know: I was you. I was that kid too. I was in your shoes. The truth is: You don’t need the most stars, hype, or rankings. You just need discipline, heart, and people who believe in you. And you need to believe in your own abilities,” he said in the acceptance speech.
(With Reuters inputs)
