Social media can be an odd world, especially when the one mechanism that confirmed an account’s identity on X is removed.
The X account @EgbukaEmeka does not belong to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Emeka Egbuka. We learned that Wednesday, when the account posted “Is CTE even real?” and the Bucs quickly responded by announcing it did not belong their player.
However, that account not being owned by Egbuka was apparently news to even the Bucs, as the team’s own account had been tagging it regularly since drafting him 19th overall out of Ohio State in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Advertisement
By the count of Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel, the @Buccaneers account had tagged @EgbukaEmeka nearly 60 times. Many of those tweets are still available, while the bogus Egbuka account has since been suspended for violating X rules.
The man himself addressed the matter Friday, posting on his Instagram story, “ For anyone wondering, I haven’t had twitter since highschool. That account on X isn’t me [laughing emoji].”
There’s obviously egg on the face of the Buccaneers’ social media department here, as verifying one of their star players’ socials definitely falls under their purview. However, the entire incident is really a testament to what is possible when X’s “verified” label only means that account’s monthly payment has been verified.
Advertisement
“Verified” used to mean the account owner had proven to the platform he or she was indeed whom the account claimed to be. The program was actually created in 2009, after then-St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa sued Twitter over a similarly fake account impersonating him.
Embarrassment aside, drafting Egbuka remains a significant win for Tampa Bay. He posted 63 catches, 938 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns on 127 targets as a rookie and placed fifth in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.