Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa donates $10,000 to family of fan who died

Last updated: 2023/06/07 at 9:58 PM

BigP Published June 7, 2023

Marcel Louis-Jacques, ESPNJun 7, 2023, 04:58 PM ET
Close

MIAMI — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa donated $10,000 to the family of a Dolphins superfan who died last week.

Eric Carmona, who helped coin the phrase “TuAnon” and often posted supportive videos of Tagovailoa to social media while wearing a rubber dolphin mask, died in a motorcycle accident Thursday in California. He was 30 years old and is survived by his wife and their four children.

His friends created a GoFundMe page to financially support his family. Within three hours, the campaign raised nearly $13,000. Four days later, the fund eclipsed $60,000, which included the donation from Tagovailoa, a $7,000 donation from Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill, and $1,000 donations each from Dolphins linebacker Andrew van Ginkel and team CEO Tom Garfinkel.

“We family fins know that,” Hill tweeted after his donation.

We family fins know that https://t.co/PHw49vDgmh

— Ty Hill (@cheetah) June 5, 2023

Tagovailoa was asked about Carmona after the team’s mandatory minicamp practice Wednesday.

“Out of my respect to him … I just want his wife and kids to know that we’re praying for them and that we’re thinking of them,” Tagovailoa said.

Carmona’s videos gained massive popularity throughout the Dolphins’ fan base over the past two years. In them, he used a voice modulator to mask his voice and defend Tagovailoa from what he felt were undeserved criticisms. His identity was not known to the public until his death.