{"id":808332,"date":"2026-03-12T15:23:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/808332\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:23:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:23:18","slug":"emeka-egbuka-cte-tweet-sparks-firestorm-buccaneers-say-account-isnt-his","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/808332\/","title":{"rendered":"Emeka Egbuka \u2018CTE\u2019 Tweet Sparks Firestorm, Buccaneers Say Account Isn\u2019t His"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emeka Egbuka
\n Bucs Claim \u2018CTE\u2019 Tweet From Fake Account
\n … After Interacting With It For Months<\/p>\n

\n Published
\n March 12, 2026
\n 8:18 AM PDT\n <\/p>\n

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\"Emeka-Egbuka-main-getty-1\"<\/p>\n

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A bizarre social media controversy is swirling around Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka<\/a> \u2026 after a viral post questioning whether CTE is real sparked outrage — and now the team is insisting the account behind it isn\u2019t actually his.<\/p>\n

The drama kicked off on Wednesday when a blue-check X account claiming to belong to Egbuka fired off a short but explosive message at 2:27 PM ET: \u201cIs CTE even real?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Emeka-Egbuka-sub-getty-2\"<\/p>\n

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The post spread quickly across the football world \u2026 with fans blasting the sentiment given CTE — chronic traumatic encephalopathy — is a brain disease linked to repeated head trauma in football.<\/p>\n

But about an hour later, the Buccaneers\u2019 communications department jumped in to try to put out the fire.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe below account is neither owned nor operated by Emeka Egbuka,\u201d the team wrote. \u201cIt is in no way affiliated with Emeka or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s where things get messy, though.<\/p>\n

What a year for @EgbukaEmeka<\/a> \ud83d\ude4f<\/p>\n

Congratulations on your engagement, Emeka & Laney! pic.twitter.com\/6TMUWLmsoT<\/a>
\n @Buccaneers<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

Despite the team\u2019s claim, the account has repeatedly been treated like Egbuka\u2019s real profile — including by the Buccaneers themselves. The team has tagged and followed the account multiple times this year, which has some NFL observers questioning what\u2019s actually going on.<\/p>\n

The now-suspended profile looks pretty legit on the surface \u2026 boasting thousands of followers, including several notable football-related accounts — the National Football League Players Association, as well as NFL Films and multiple NFL media members.<\/p>\n

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\"Emeka-Egbuka-sub-getty-1\"<\/p>\n

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Adding another wrinkle … the account has been mostly dormant for years, with very few original posts and mostly reposts. It had only made three posts in 2026, all since March 9 \u2026 raising the possibility that someone recently gained control of the account.<\/p>\n

For now, the Buccaneers are sticking to their story that the account isn\u2019t Egbuka\u2019s \u2026 but given the team\u2019s own history of interacting with it, plenty of fans and media members aren\u2019t totally convinced.<\/p>\n

Waiting for your permission to load the Twitter Tweet.<\/p>\n

Lost in the chaos is the fact that Egbuka is coming off an impressive rookie season in Tampa — playing all 17 games and hauling in 63 catches for 938 yards and six touchdowns for the Bucs.<\/p>\n

As for the controversial post \u2026 the team insists it didn\u2019t come from their rising star — even if the internet isn\u2019t quite sure what to believe yet.<\/p>\n