Josh Allen has criticized the sports reporter who publicly revealed the drowning death of Ed Oliver’s young son before the Buffalo Bills defensive tackle had the chance to address the heartbreaking loss himself.
The NFL community was left grieving Saturday morning when Bills general manager Brandon Beane issued a statement confirming the “devastating” death of Oliver’s two-year-old son, who drowned in a swimming pool in Houston on June 28.
But Beane’s message was not the first time the tragedy had been made public. On Friday night, social media sports reporter Tony Farmer shared the news with his 24,000 followers on X, sparking criticism over how such a deeply personal family tragedy surfaced.
After the Bills’ preseason victory over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday, Allen addressed reporters and spoke emotionally about Oliver’s loss, while also making clear his frustration with the manner in which the news became public.
“First off, I want to say thank you to the ones that knew about it and allowed him to have his moment and his time,” Allen said. “It’s very sad in how it came out. It makes me very sad and angry at the same time.”
“Obviously, very unfortunate what happened and as a teammate of him, as someone in this locker room, all we can do is love on him,” the Bills quarterback continued. “There’s nothing that you can say to make the situation any better except being there in whatever ways he needs.”
Josh Allen condemned the podcaster who first shared the news of Ed Oliver’s two-year-old son’s death
The NFL is mourning after the young son of Buffalo Bills star Ed Oliver drowned in a swimming pool on June 28
Oliver is pictured with his two-year-old son Ed Jr, who drowned at the end of June in Houston
He later added: ‘It’s very unfortunate how it came about. I appreciate (those) that knew and didn’t want to bring it up. It’s no one’s place to really let that out there except him and his family’s when the time came for it, but we roll now and be there for him as teammates.’
Allen himself is a new dad, having recently welcomed his first daughter, Harper, with his actress wife Hailee Steinfeld back in April.
Farmer, who is the creator and host of a podcast called ‘Last Men Standing’, had posted on Friday evening: ‘The Bills are saying Ed Oliver is injured and that’s why he’s not been practicing. I just discovered that he was connected to a terrible personal tragedy in June on his property in Texas, I wrote an entire article on X and it was pulled down by within minutes.’
He was met by hundreds of replies from Bills fans asking him to remove the post, and that was exacerbated on Saturday night by Allen’s comments to the media.
One wrote: ‘Dude, not everything needs to be news,’ while another added: ‘You have zero integrity. This man is suffering and was not ready to go public.’
In the wake of the Bills’ statement, TMZ reported on Saturday that first responders rushed to Oliver’s home on June 28, where they were told the boy’s parents had found him unresponsive in the pool. The child was taken by ambulance to the hospital but was later pronounced dead.
The defensive tackle has been with Buffalo since being taken ninth overall in the 2019 NFL draft
Allen and his glamorous wife Hailee Steinfeld have welcomed their first baby this offseason
At the time, but without providing many details including names or ages, the Harris County Sheriff´s department posted a note on social media evening regarding the drowning of a toddler in a neighborhood community north of Houston.
‘This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with the toddler’s family during this incredibly difficult time. The investigation is ongoing,’ the post read.
According to ESPN, the Bills have been aware of the tragedy since it occurred and Oliver has been involved in training camp ahead of the 2026 season. He also featured in the Bills’ preseason win over Carolina last weekend. The 28-year-old is said to have asked for ‘privacy and prayers at this very difficult time.’
The defensive tackle has been with Buffalo since the 2019 NFL draft, when he was selected by the Bills with the ninth overall pick.
He grew up in Houston and opted to play football for his hometown school, snubbing offers from the likes of Alabama, LSU and Oklahoma.
The Bills were in Cleveland on Saturday to face the Browns in their penultimate preseason game ahead of the 2026 NFL season.
Podcaster Tony Farmer was the first to reveal the death of Oliver’s son on Friday night
It is not the first time an NFL player’s child has tragically drowned. In 2023, the two-year-old daughter of linebacker Shaq Barrett (left) drowned in a pool at the family’s Tampa home
But Oliver is not with the rest of Joe Brady’s team as he deals with a minor injury, ESPN and NFL Network reported.
It is not the first time that an NFL player has tragically lost a child to drowning. Back in 2023, the two-year-old daughter of linebacker Shaq Barrett died after drowning in a swimming pool at home.
Police responded to a call of a child who had fallen into a pool at around in Tampa’s Beach Park area, according to Tampa Police Department.
Arrayah Barrett, who had celebrated her second birthday only weeks earlier, was taken to the hospital but attempts to save her life were unsuccessful, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
