Social media can be a strange world, especially when one of the mechanisms on X to confirm an account’s identity is removed.
X Account @EgbukaEmeka is not affiliated with Tampa Bay Buccaneers Emeka Egbuka. We learned this on Wednesday when the account posted “CTE Really?” The Buccaneers quickly responded by declaring that it did not belong to their player.
However, the fact that this account does not belong to Egbuka is obviously also news to the Buccaneers, as the team’s own account has been regularly flagging the account since drafting him out of Ohio State with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
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According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, the @Buccaneers account has tagged @EgbukaEmeka nearly 60 times. Many of these tweets are still available, while the fake Egbuka tweet has been suspended for violating Rule X.
The man himself took to his Instagram Story on Friday to elaborate on the matter, saying, “For anyone wondering, I haven’t been on Twitter since high school. That account on X is not me.” [laughing emoji]”.
The Buccaneers’ social media department clearly has an egg on their face, as verifying one of their star players’ socials is definitely within their purview. However, this whole incident does prove that anything is possible when X’s “verified” label simply means that the account’s monthly payments have been verified.
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“Verified” used to mean that the account owner had proven to the platform that they were indeed who the account claimed to be. The program was actually created in 2009, after St. John’s Day. St. Louis Cardinals head coach Tony La Russa is suing Twitter, saying a similar fake account impersonated him.
Embarrassment aside, drafting Egbuka is still a major win for Tampa Bay. As a rookie, he had 63 receptions, 938 yards and six touchdowns on 127 targets, finishing fifth in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting.