As the presidential election in November approaches swiftly, former president Donald Trump continues to rally and campaign across the country.
A stop in Miami, Fla. incited questions about certain Miami Dolphins players and whether they support the former president.
A picture of a reserved spot for Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa at Donald Trump’s rally went viral
With Trump comes controversy and his Miami rally was no different. A picture of what appeared to be a reserved spot for Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa went viral before Trump’s Miami rally.
Crazy, Tua has a front row seat to the Miami Trump rally pic.twitter.com/lcrLDZ4e6L
— Andrew (@AndrewFazz) July 9, 2024
The picture garnered over 20,000 likes and resulted in 10s of thousands of engagements. Reporters such as Clay Travis of Outkick and outlets like Old Row Sports made social media posts without questioning the validity of the image resulting in a great deal of football fans taking the image seriously.
Front row at the Donald Trump Miami rally tonight? Tua. pic.twitter.com/oQvGAY4Uhg
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) July 9, 2024
Tua after one Trump rally pic.twitter.com/oXON5gvuTN
— Old Row Sports (@OldRowSports) July 10, 2024
The image showing Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa’s seat reservation at a Donald Trump rally was doctored
In what is now abruptly apparent due to the “community notes” feature on X/Twitter, the photo showing a front-row spot for Tagovailoa at a Trump rally was doctored. The original photo showed that Tagovailoa’s spot was actually for the son of Donald Trump, Barron Trump.
this is not real pic.twitter.com/Wf7ETKtkeA
— Tom (@thomasjeans) July 10, 2024
Regardless of the picture’s doctored nature, the image incited many virulent responses from all over the political spectrum. Some were coming to grips with the fact that their favorite quarterback was potentially a Trump supporter while others were ready to pledge their fandom to Tagovailoa.
Still, many of the outlets that were originally tricked by the image have yet to address the fact that they perpetuated falsehoods.
Look, it’s a free country and as much as it pains me to think Uno is a MAGA… whatevs.. football is football, not politics..
— Everything Analyst (@michaelotomus) July 9, 2024
gained a fan
— Connor (@ConnorMerecki) July 9, 2024
Every reason why we need to pay the man!
— Itsnotmanny (@itsnotmannyy) July 9, 2024
From the crowd who says athletes should keep their opinions to themselves.
— Jake Hansen (@jake_hansen_) July 9, 2024
This is not the first time Miami Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa and former president Donald Trump have crossed paths
A fake photo placing Tagovailoa with Trump’s family does not mark the first time the two stars’ names came together.
After Tagovailoa led the Alabama Crimson Tide to a College Football Playoff victory in the 2017-2018 season, he and his team met the president in the White House. According to an article from The Spun, Trump specifically mentioned Tagovailoa’s late-game heroics in the speech given while the team was visiting.
“On the first play of overtime, Georgia sacked Tua for a big loss. … But the Crimson Tide never gave in — never even a little bit — and it just worked out,” Trump said.
“On the very next play, Tua dropped back to pass, launched the ball from near midfield — I was watching — and the entire country watched as arms lifted up, and DeVonta Smith caught that ball for the win.”
Tua Tagovailoa has always been a fervent Trump supporter pic.twitter.com/1LO6dKHBrE
— Dr. Phillip Oliver-Holz (@ThePhillipHolz) July 9, 2024
Trump never forgot Tua sitting in the nosebleeds https://t.co/P3dseKDxLs pic.twitter.com/nv7oZ6Dmtl
— Mister Knish (@Mister_Knish) July 10, 2024
Other than the fact that Tagovailoa stood far away from Trump while he gave his speech being interpreted as a potential dislike for the former president by some fans, Tagovailoa has been very quiet about his political leanings.
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