The NFL reported on Tuesday that its Twitter account had been hacked after a tweet went live telling fans that league Commissioner Roger Goodell had died.
As ESPN reported, the tweet, deleted only minutes after it appeared, was posted before noon on June 7, and said, “We regret to inform our fans that our commissioner, Roger Goodell, has passed away. He was 57. #RIP.”
NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy said the tweet was incorrect. Goodell “is alive and well,” he said.
The @nfl Twitter account was hacked. @nflcommish is alive and well.
— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) June 7, 2016
The league also reported that at least two other unauthorized tweets were deleted.
The second and third tweets came after the first was deleted. They read, “Oi, I said Roger Goodell has died. Don’t delete that tweet,” and then, “OK, OK, you amateur detectives win. Good job.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com