A tragic accident before a college football game on Saturday has left a US Air Force service member dead and ignited a wave of political backlash online. The airman fell from the Alamodome rafters during a scheduled pregame rappelling demonstration.
It occurred during the opening ceremonies of UTSA's annual military appreciation game between the UTSA Roadrunners and the US Naval Academy Midshipmen. After the incident, several political commentators and strategists took to social media to criticise Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and his promotion of high-visibility military displays.