Anthem Kneeling

Did an NFL referee expel 10 players for kneeling during the U.S. national anthem in late August 2024? No, that's not true: The images used to depict the supposed referee and Dallas Cowboys players are not from 2024, but from 2022 and 2017, respectively. The Cowboys players shown are not wearing the same color jersey as they wore during their…

Were University of Texas students who knelt during the national anthem "removed from scholarships" as a social media post with a link to an article in the comments said? No, that's not true: The photo appearing with the story depicts cheerleaders at Kennesaw State University, in Georgia. As of August 27, 2024 there was no public statement by the University…

Was American football player Travis Kelce fined $10 million for taking a knee during the national anthem, as a post on Facebook said? No, that's not true: This story began as an article by SpaceXMania, a self-described fake news website known for publishing content it says is satire. There is no publicly available or credible evidence to support the story.…

Were NFL referees given authority to disqualify football players who kneeled during the U.S. national anthem? No, that's not true: The claim is from a satirical website whose articles Lead Stories has debunked before. Lead Stories found no actual news articles mentioning such change to the authority of NFL referees. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here)…

Did Andy Reid, head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, publicly say that "If you kneel for the national anthem, you should lose your Olympic medal"? No, that's not true: An AI detection tool says it is highly likely that the article containing the statement was generated using artificial intelligence. Lead Stories didn't find any record of a press conference…

Did American basketball player Brittney Griner make a public statement announcing she is leaving the United States? No, that's not true: Griner's long-time agent refuted the claim in an email to Lead Stories and there are no stories about any such announcement on any news websites. The rumor first appeared in an AI-generated article published by what appeared to be…

Do NFL referees now have the authority to disqualify players for kneeling in protest during the national anthem? No, that's not true: This claim comes from a satirical website that has a history of fabricating content surrounding popular topics. The site carries a disclaimer that states, "Everything on this website is fiction." Lead Stories found no credible reports about what…

Did National Football League (NFL) coaches unanimously vote to ban "anthem kneeling" permanently? No, that's not true: An NFL representative told Lead Stories that this claim was "totally false." A Google News and NFL.com search did not yield evidence of such a vote, and Lead Stories found the same story reposted on a satire website. The claim appeared on Facebook…

Did Deion Sanders, head football coach at the University of Colorado Boulder, bench "one of his best" players for kneeling while the national anthem was playing? No, that's not true: The claim was featured in an article on a satirical website. The site's About Us page says: "Everything on this website is fiction." The claim appeared in an article (archived…

Did the NFL's ethics committee deny Colin Kaepernick's request to return to "active status" and suggest "he should go sell hair products"? No, that's not true: This claim comes from a satirical website that has a history of fabricating content surrounding popular topics, and that features a disclaimer stating, "Everything on this website is fiction." Lead Stories could not find…