Alabama Senator and former college football coach Tommy Tuberville issued a statement Friday expressing frustration with the Sugar Bowl’s hosting on Thursday, a day after a deadly terrorist attack in New Orleans killed at least 14 innocent people. .
Tuberville, who coached in three Sugar Bowls, including two as Auburn’s head coach, criticized ESPN for not airing the national anthem before the game and instead airing a controversial video message from Allstate CEO Tom Wilson, who urged Americans to “overcome addiction.” to the division.”
“It was a great honor to have coached in three Sugar Bowls during my coaching career. American sports, and especially college football, have always been a patriotic tradition that unites ALL AMERICANS. Unfortunately, ESPN (which is owned by Disney) gave in to the crowd that woke up last night by REFUSING to broadcast the National Anthem and instead played a video of the Allstate CEO talking about ‘divisiveness’ Yet he did not condemn the terrorist he brutally killed. [14+] people,” Tuberville said.
“This was an opportunity for us all to come together. But instead of honoring the innocent lives lost, these woke corporations bowed to the terrorists.”
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Then-Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville training at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama. (Todd Van Emst)
Tuberville then referenced President-elect Trump’s recent election victory as evidence that Americans are fed up with “woke ideology.”
“November 5th was a mandate from the American people. The ideology of wokeness was lost. Join America First or leave,” Tuberville said.
Notre Dame defeated Georgia 23-10, but much of the discussion during the game centered 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 College Football Playoff semifinal game between the Texas Longhorns and the Washington Huskies at Caesars Superdome. (Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports)
Allstate provided a statement to Pak Gazette Digital regarding the statement.
“To be clear, Allstate CEO Tom Wilson unequivocally condemns this heinous act of terrorism and violence in all its forms. We stand with the victims’ families, their loved ones, and the New Orleans community. The reference to overcoming division and negativity reflects a broader commitment to fostering trust and positivity in communities across the country,” the statement reads.
The alleged attacker has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, 42. The FBI is working to determine Jabbar’s “potential associations and affiliations with terrorist organizations,” after an ISIS flag was found attached to the truck.
Jabbar’s younger brother. told the New York Times that he and his Army veteran brother were raised as Christians in Beaumont, Texas, before the now-deceased attacker converted to Islam as an adult.
Family and friends rallied to identify the growing number of victims after a terror suspect, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, plowed a car into a large crowd in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
“What he did does not represent Islam,” the younger brother said. “It’s more about some kind of radicalization, not religion.”
Retired FBI agents Scott Duffey and Chris Swecker told Pak Gazette Digital that Wednesday’s attack could embolden ISIS, other terrorist groups, or individuals who have become radicalized.
“This is a time when ISIS is under extreme stress and its existence is being threatened in Syria and elsewhere. It would make sense for them to double down on their message of radicalizing Americans to get them into action and activate whatever cells they have in place.” Swecker said.
The attack in New Orleans came nearly two weeks after an alleged terrorist attack at a Christmas market in Germany and the same day an explosion occurred outside Trump Tower in Las Vegas, Nevada.
