Emeka Egbuka forced to clarify after fake X account sparks CTE controversy as Tampa Bay Buccaneers unknowingly tagged it for months (Image via Getty) Emeka Egbuka found himself in the middle of an unexpected online controversy this week after a fake social media account pretending to be him caused confusion across the NFL world. The account, operating on X under the handle @EgbukaEmeka, posted a message questioning whether Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is real. The post quickly spread among fans and sparked strong reactions because CTE is a serious brain disease linked to repeated head injuries in football.As the post gained attention, people believed it came from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver himself. But that was not the case. On Friday, Emeka Egbuka spoke out on Instagram to clear things up.“I haven’t had Twitter since high school. That account on X isn’t me,” he wrote in a direct message to fans. The situation became even more surprising when it came out that the fake account had also fooled Emeka Egbuka’s own NFL team for months.
How Emeka Egbuka and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers responded after the fake account confused fans and even the team
The confusion partly happened because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had tagged the fake account several times on their official X page. It started during the 2025 NFL Draft, when the Buccaneers selected Emeka Egbuka with the 19th overall pick. When the team shared the draft announcement online, they tagged the account @EgbukaEmeka, believing it belonged to the player.Just minutes later, the team posted a video showing Roger Goodell announcing the draft pick. Once again, the same account was tagged.Over time, the team continued using that handle in posts. According to reports, the account was tagged more than 50 times by the Buccaneers across the year. Because the official team account kept linking to it, many fans naturally believed the page was Egbuka’s real account. That is why the recent post questioning CTE created such a big reaction online.CTE, or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, is a brain disease linked to repeated hits to the head. Many former NFL players have been diagnosed with it after their deaths, which is why the topic remains very sensitive in football discussions. Medical research groups like the Boston University CTE Center have studied the condition for years.Once the controversy started spreading, both the team and the player moved quickly to clear things up. The Buccaneers’ communications department released a statement on Wednesday explaining the situation.“The below account is neither owned nor operated by Emeka Egbuka. It is in no way affiliated with Emeka or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” the team said in a post.Shortly after the clarification, the account was suspended by the platform. Before it disappeared, however, the fake profile had already fooled several large accounts online. Many users interacted with it thinking it was the real Emeka Egbuka. Egbuka does not use X at all, and the account never belonged to him.