The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have removed a controversial social media post that appeared to make light of a 65-year-old man's severe injury from a bison attack in Yellowstone National Park. The team's social media account had spliced a viral video of the incident with a clip of wide receiver Tez Johnson's touchdown celebration.
The original video showed an agitated bull bison chasing Carl McDaniel through a cluster of trees before throwing him into the air. McDaniel suffered four fractures to his femur as a result of the encounter. He told CNN that the bison could have easily killed him when it was on top of him on the ground, but chose not to gore or stomp on him.
The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. on a Friday at Bridge Bay Compound in the national park. McDaniel was walking with his grandson at the time. Bison mating season, which can increase male bison's testosterone levels, was ongoing at the time of the attack.
Following the team's decision to delete the post on Tuesday, some fans expressed anger online. One commenter wrote, "This country has become so soft," adding, "no sense of humor!!" Another user stated, "The Bucs are some b****es. They should've kept that shit up." A third critic commented that the team's social media team had "been woke garbage for years."
McDaniel has since undergone surgery and is reportedly back on his feet, preparing for physical therapy. He acknowledged the potential for a far more catastrophic outcome from the encounter with the roughly 2,000-pound animal.