On Wednesday, an X account seemingly belonging to Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka posted the question, \u201cIs CTE even real?\u201d<\/p>\n
Naturally, that went viral as X users slammed Egbuka for suggesting that Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head impacts that has been linked to the deterioration of many NFL players, leading to dementia, aggression, and even suicide, might not be a real thing.<\/p>\n
Then things got really weird.<\/p>\n
Exactly one hour after the post from Egbuka\u2019s account went up, the Buccaneers Communications account quoted it and wrote, \u201cThe below account is neither owned nor operated by Emeka Egbuka. It is in no way affiliated with Emeka or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The below account is neither owned nor operated by Emeka Egbuka. It is in no way affiliated with Emeka or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. https:\/\/t.co\/d3uZHhH5Nc<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Buccaneers Communications (@BuccaneersComms) March 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Under owner Elon Musk, X has become a free-for-all of misinformation and fake identities<\/a>, so it\u2019s not unreasonable to think this could be someone pretending to be the NFL wide receiver. The Egbuka account has a blue checkmark, but under Musk, those have been rendered useless<\/a> as a way to verify if the account truly belongs to the person whose name is on it.<\/p>\n However, what makes it odd is that the account normally operates as if it were the NFL player\u2019s actual X account. It also has more than 7,500 followers and, as Pro Football Talk noted, it is followed by the gold-checked account of the NFL Players Association. It\u2019s also followed by the NFL Films account and several NFL media members.<\/p>\n The account has posted very sparsely over the years, and it\u2019s almost entirely reposts. There have been only three posts in 2026, all from March 9 or later, which could mean someone gained control of the account in recent days.<\/p>\n Perhaps we\u2019ll get further clarity from him or the Bucs soon.<\/p>\n \t