Chris “Mad Dog” Russo is famous for butchering names and phrases, and he was at it with another hilarious gaffe Friday.
The Mad Dog Unleashed host talked about Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan. Russo has shared his dislike for Khan’s ownership style and decisions in the past, which would make one think he would know the owner’s name by now.
Yet Russo referred to him as “Chaka Khan.” Yes, as in Chaka Khan, the award-winning R&B/funk singer.
Russo slipped in Chaka Khan’s name very smoothly, but when you have a popular show like his, it’s hard to hide a gaffe like that. So people noticed.
When the NFL and R&B singers collide. pic.twitter.com/hPV1zuAEvs
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) January 24, 2025
Russo has made his disdain known for Khan (Shad, not Chaka) in the past, so it’s possible he just threw the singer’s name out there as a joke. Or it’s possible it’s another case of him being terrible with names. He’s famous for mispronouncing athletes’ names and butchering coaches’ names. But he’s liable to get any name wrong, at any time. Last year, he got former president Barack Obama’s name terribly wrong, pronouncing it like the military housing units.
Barack Obama was the President of the United States for eight years.
Here is how Chris “Mad Dog” Russo just pronounced his name. Twice.
This. This is the all timer. pic.twitter.com/XyxQLOJprE
— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) June 28, 2024
On one memorable episode of First Take last year, Russo also managed to mispronounce the names of all three of his fellow panelists.
So putting Chaka Khan in charge of the Jaguars is not the worst blunder Russo could make. And many Jaguars fans might argue the “Tell Me Something Good” singer could do a better job of running the perpetually underperforming franchise.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.