On the late April evening when he was drafted by the Miami Dolphins, Tua Tagovailoa and his entire family wore leis, a tribute to the family’s Polynesian culture. When Tagovailoa arrived at Hard Rock Stadium to make his first NFL start in November, he sported a floral button-up with an ie faitaga around his waist and a kukui lei around his neck.
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During life’s biggest moments, Tagovailoa has remembered and honored his diverse background and heritage by donning the lei, a necklace commonly presented upon arriving or leaving as a symbol of affection in Polynesian culture.
“That’s how I’ve been raised,” Tagovailoa said in November. “Being able to share that with the world … it’s just a representation of who you are and also what you represent. It’s not just me and my family, but it’s also our people as well. I’d say we’re very prideful people. We take pride in a lot of things that we do, and at the same time, respect is really big in our culture.”
As Tagovailoa prepares for his second season with the Dolphins, he is hoping to share part of his culture with the South Florida community. The Tua Foundation, established earlier this month, recently partnered with South Florals to create and sell aqua-and-orange Tua Leis. The proceeds from the leis, made with Caribbean orchids, will benefit Tagovailoa’s nonprofit organization’s youth initiatives and other charitable causes.
(Courtesy of South Florals)
“The Tua Foundation is excited to team with South Florals,” Tagovailoa said in a statement. “It is our hope that Tua Leis will help in our charitable mission to support kids for years to come.”
Since the earliest stages of his career, Tagovailoa has had a large following of supporters. When he starred at Alabama, crimson-and-white leis were sold and distributed before home games throughout Tuscaloosa. Last summer, when he arrived in South Florida, he began thinking of ways he can share his culture with the community. At the completion of his rookie year, Tagovailoa’s No. 1 was the top-selling rookie jersey and the third-highest selling overall, behind Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady, across the Fanatics network.
Locally, South Floral founder and CEO Danny Sanchez is hoping the Tua Leis also becomes a hit. Sanchez has owned South Floral for nearly 15 years and he can’t remember a time when he was more excited to partner with one of the region’s most popular athletes.
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“It’s been a really good thing to align ourselves with Tua,” Sanchez said by phone this week. “When this opportunity came about, I thought this was a great fit. When you think about football, it’s so hard to think of a player who will come out and talk about flowers, but what better way for Tua to express his background with the leis and Polynesian culture?”
Aqua looking good @Tua 🔥 pic.twitter.com/xJ98d5LgxM
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 1, 2020
Tua Leis cost $59.95 and will be sold by South Floral in two forms: silk and fresh. The silk-based leis can be worn all year long, while the fresh floral leis are created for short-term use and won’t be available until later in the summer. Sanchez said the leis can be ordered and shipped nationwide or made in-house.
South Floral has locations in Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Jupiter. The organization’s flagship shop is located in Miami Beach.
“It’s a long process,” Sanchez said. “You’re trying to take off every pedal of the Caribbean orchid and sew the thread through them. They’re beautiful once you get it all together. We’re excited to partner with Tua.”
(Top photo: Jasen Vinlove / USA Today)
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