Alabama Senator and former college football coach Tommy Tuberville released a statement Friday expressing frustration over Thursday’s Sugar Bowl presentation, a day after a deadly terror attack in New Orleans killed at least fourteen innocent people.
Tuberville, who coached in three Sugar Bowls, including two as Auburn’s head coach, shouted ESPN for not airing the national anthem before the game and instead airing a controversial video message from Allstate CEO Tom Wilson urging Americans to “overcome the addiction to division.”
“It has been my great honor to have coached in three Sugar Bowls during my coaching career. American sports, especially college football, have always been a patriotic tradition that brings ALL AMERICANS together. Unfortunately, ESPN (Disney owned) gave in to the woke crowd last night by REFUSED to broadcast the national anthem and instead play a video of Allstate’s CEO talking about ‘divisiveness’ Yet he failed to convict the terrorist who brutally (14+) killed people,” Tuberville said.
“This was an opportunity for all of us to come together. But instead of honoring the innocent lives lost, these woke corporations bowed to terrorists.”
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Then-Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville coached at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. (Todd Van Emst)
Tuberville then pointed to the recent election victory of newly elected President Trump as proof that Americans are done with the “woke ideology.”
“November 5 was a mandate from the American people. The ideology of wokeness is lost. Join America First or leave,” Tuberville said.
Notre Dame defeated Georgia 23-10, but much of the discussion during the game focused on Wilson’s controversial video statement. Allstate, the official corporate sponsor, and Wilson have come under fire on social media for the statement, and the video has since been removed from Allstate’s official pages.
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A general view during the national anthem before the 2024 Sugar Bowl semifinal game between the Texas Longhorns and the Washington Huskies at Caesars Superdome. (Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)
Allstate released a statement to Fox News Digital about the statement.
“To be clear, Allstate CEO Tom Wilson unequivocally condemns this heinous act of terrorism and violence in all forms. We stand with the families of the victims, their loved ones and the New Orleans community. The reference to overcoming division and negativity reflects a broader commitment to promoting trust and positivity in communities across the country,” the statement said.
The suspected attacker has been identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar. The FBI is working to determine Jabbar’s “potential associations and ties with terrorist organizations” after an ISIS flag was placed on the truck.
Jabbar’s younger brother told the New York Times that he and his brother, an Army veteran, were raised Christian in Beaumont, Texas, before the now-deceased attacker converted to Islam as an adult.
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Family and friends set out to identify the growing number of victims after a terrorist suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, drove a car into a large crowd in New Year’s Day in New Orleans.
“What he did does not represent Islam,” the younger brother said. “This is more of a form of radicalization, not a religion.”
Retired FBI agents Scott Duffey and Chris Swecker told Fox News Digital that Wednesday’s attack could embolden ISIS, other terrorist groups or individuals who have been radicalized.
“This is a time when ISIS is under extreme pressure and their survival is threatened in Syria and elsewhere. It would make sense for them to double down on their message to radicalize Americans, to get them into action and activate every cell they have. place,” said Swecker.
The attack in New Orleans came almost two weeks after a suspect terrorist attack at a Christmas market in Germany and the same day an explosion occurred outside Trump Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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