Atlanta Falcons quarterback Tua Tagovailoa became the subject of online ridicule after an Instagram post appeared to feature a supportive comment from his own account.
The quarterback shared a post featuring six images of himself with the Falcons, captioned "For the A" with a salute emoji. Shortly after, a comment seemingly from Tagovailoa's account read, "We’re so proud of you!! You got this," accompanied by a heart emoji. This comment was later deleted.
Adding to the situation, Tagovailoa's wife, Annah, posted a nearly identical message in the comments section, differing only in the number of exclamation points. "We are so proud of you! You got this!!" she wrote, also with a heart emoji.
Social media users quickly captured screenshots of the deleted comment, leading to a wave of jokes and criticism directed at the quarterback. Many users on X, formerly Twitter, speculated about the use of a "burner account" for self-praise. Comments included "Not even trying to hide the self-love is hilarious," "Tua forgetting the burner is comedy gold," and "Oh brother this guy STINKS."
Tagovailoa joined the Falcons on a one-year contract after his release from the Miami Dolphins. He was brought in to compete with Michael Penix Jr. for the starting quarterback position. However, reports indicate Tagovailoa has faced challenges in training camp, potentially opening the door for Penix, whose training camp debut was delayed due to recovery from a torn ACL.
Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski has not yet announced the Week 1 starting quarterback for the team's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team's initial roster includes four quarterbacks: Tagovailoa, Penix Jr., Cooper Rush, and Jack Strand.