What started as a seemingly routine social media post during a long haul flight quickly spiraled into one of the most talked about moments in the grappling community this week and a comment from an unexpected source may have just revealed the truth behind it all.
During his flight to Thailand, Gordon Ryan posted what appeared to be a tribute for his longtime coach and mentor Tom DeBlass, complete with the dates “1982-2026,” leading fans and followers to believe the beloved jiu jitsu instructor had passed away. The post went viral in the community almost immediately.
Tom DeBlass‘s wife, Danielle, was among the first to step in and set the record straight.
“Tom is perfectly ok and is currently unaware of any posts that were made, due to the fact he doesn’t have service and is probably currently trying to catch up on a lack of sleep. Thank you for everyone who cares deeply about his well being and I’m so sorry about that,” she wrote.
Shortly after Danielle’s clarification, Gordon Ryan posted a follow up message attempting to explain the situation.
“Sorry guys. Tom hacked my phone. We’re alive,” he wrote.
But Tom DeBlass, once he finally landed and got wifi, had plenty to say. In a detailed statement he acknowledged that he and Gordon Ryan had shared a similar joke close to a decade ago.
“Years ago Gordon joked that he was going to post that I di ed. My response to him was, ‘The internet would ex plode.’ He actually posted it back then, probably close to ten years ago, and we laughed about it,” DeBlass wrote.
However, Tom DeBlass made it clear that the world has changed considerably since then.
“But this is a completely different world now. That kind of thing can’t be posted anymore. I honestly figured he knew that,” he added.
He described waking up to thousands of messages with the most distressing ones coming from his wife and mother.
“Imagine the fear they felt seeing news articles saying I was de ad. My Wikipedia saying I di ed. People messaging them asking if it was true. I’m super f*ckin annoyed right now.”
In a follow up Tom DeBlass addressed Gordon Ryan‘s explanation with noticeable skepticism.
“Gordon is swearing to me that he was hacked. He was either hacked or simply doesn’t get it. It’s not ten years ago. My Mom legit thought I was de ad, imagine how she felt? I finally got wifi and woke up to tens of thousands of DMs. I’m not ignoring your DMs, I’m grateful that you care, but I’m more sorry if you were upset. Truly.”
That skepticism may now be well founded thanks to an unlikely source, Gordon Ryan‘s own mother.
Trish Ryan left a comment on a BJJEE post covering the incident that raised more than a few eyebrows. Rather than defending the story her son had put forward she offered a very different take.
“The only way you can appreciate this as a joke is if you know these two numb nuts and their relationship. Not funny to most people but the two of them are both laughing their asses off. Trust me,” she wrote.
The comment was brief but its implications were significant. If Gordon Ryan‘s phone had genuinely been hacked by an outside party there would be little reason for Trish Ryan to frame the incident as a shared joke between two people with a well established comedic dynamic.
Tom DeBlass, for his part, has been gracious toward his community while remaining visibly frustrated with the episode. He closed his statement with characteristic resolve.
“But let me make something very clear. I’m not leaving this earth for a long time.”
Whether Gordon Ryan was truly hacked or simply misjudged how much the climate around this kind of content has changed remains to be seen.
\
