Sports

Did the NCAA settle with American collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines for $1.2 million and guarantee her a spot for next year? No, that's not true: This story originated from a self-described satirical website aimed at trolling conservatives. No corporate statement or credible independent reporting supports the claim. The claim appeared in an article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times on May…

Did the International Olympic Committee issue a lifetime ban against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas? No, that's not true: This claim is from a satirical website, The Dunning-Kruger Times. There is no evidence the Committee has ruled that she is banned for life from swimming competitions at the Olympic level. The claim appeared in an article published by The Dunning-Kruger Times…

Did the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) strip former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas of her NCAA National Championship record and refer her case to the Indiana state attorney for "possible fraud charges"? No, neither of those claims are true: This claim is from a satirical website, The Dunning-Kruger Times. There is no evidence Thomas is being stripped of…

Was Nike "forced to pay $1000 to every customer" via gift cards? No, that's not true: As of May 18, 2023, there is no indication that courts or authorities made the company do so. The claim originated from a post published on Facebook on May 16, 2023. The caption said: Nike is forced to pay $1000 to every customer! Click…

Is a kick in the testicles equal to "9000 del of pain" which is equivalent to giving birth to 160 kids or 3,200 bones getting crushed at the same time? No, that's not true: There is no such unit of measurement as a "del." A unit with a similar name briefly used in the middle of last century (the "dol")…

Has a professional athlete never lived to be 100 years old, thus evidencing that exercise "doesn't increase lifespan" and "in fact, exercise can shorten lifespan"? No, that's not true: Globally, there are a number of professional athletes who have lived to be 100 years old and beyond, including several of whom are alive as of this publication. Furthermore, scientific evidence…

Was basketball superstar Kobe Bryant suing the company behind Black Mamba Hyperrush over their energy supplements' supposed opioid contamination? No, that's not true: Bryant was suing a company in a trademark dispute for using the name Black Mamba Hyperrush; the lawsuit never mentions opioids. According to court records, the suit was settled on January 2, 2020, weeks before his death…

Does a video circulating on social media show mixed martial arts fighter Fallon Fox speaking in a "male" voice? No, that's not true: The clip appears to have been digitally altered to make it sound lower. Fox, who is an openly transgender female athlete, denied that the recording reflects the way she speaks. Other videos of the same event show…

Did Michael Jordan turn down a $120 million deal with Disney on April 3, 2023? No, that's not true: This story originated from the website The Dunning-Kruger Times, which has a disclaimer stating, "Everything on this website is fictional." This website is in connection with the satirical network, "America's Last Line of Defense." America's Last Line of Defense has a…

Did Nike lose a lawsuit and as a result have to give away gift cards to their customers for only one dollar? No, that's not true: This is a scam post. Nike's verified Facebook and Twitter pages have not mentioned such a giveaway. There have been no reports from major news outlets on these purported Nike gift cards, according to…

Did CNN cut Benjamin Watson off in mid-sentence during an interview because the NFL star started talking about Jesus? No, that's not true: Watson, who was at the time a tight end for the New Orleans Saints, was interviewed via satellite feed by CNN journalist Brooke Baldwin on November 28, 2014. The topic of the interview was not football, but…

Was Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes indefinitely suspended by the NFL? No, that's not true: The claim in a social media post has a "Learn more" link that goes to a fake ESPN page promoting an "off-market supplement." The fake ESPN logo seen in the upper left-hand corner leads users to a website selling the supplement. No other legitimate…

Was the backflip banned after it was performed by the prominent Black figure skater Surya Bonaly in 1998? No, that's not true: Decades ago, the International Skating Union banned somersault jumps, which includes backflips with a one-foot landing, in figure-skating competitions. The video in the post that claims Bonaly's backflip caused the ban is actually from 1994, not 1998. Bonaly,…

Did Grammy award-winning singer Rihanna wear a pentagram-shaped symbol on her belt during the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show? No, that's not true: The shape seen in the post, on her aerial safety belt, is hexagonal, but in clearer photos is neither a hexagon nor a pentagon . A pentagram, associated with satanism, has five points. The claim appeared as…

Is it true that Romania outlaws excessive weight and, therefore, there are "literally zero" people with a body mass above normal? No, that's not true. The website of the Chamber of Deputies, which typically initiates legislation and in some cases approves bills proposed by the upper house of the national parliament, shows no signs of such law. The chamber's spokesperson…

Did football player Damar Hamlin die on the field in early January 2023 and is the NFL covering it up? No, that's not true: Hamlin, a safety for the Buffalo Bills, did collapse in a game against the Cincinnati Bengals but was revived by medical personnel before being taken to the hospital. Hamlin posted to his Instagram account while hospitalized…

Did CNN publish a news article that linked Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin's on-field collapse to the COVID-19 vaccine? No, that's not true: A spokesperson for the news network confirmed to Lead Stories by email that the media outlet never published such a story. A widely shared social media post featured an altered photograph of an original CNN headline. The…

Does a photo showing hospitalized Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin without a clearly visible heart monitor prove that he did not undergo cardiac arrest during a January 2, 2023, football game? No, that's not true: A visible heart monitor in a photo would potentially violate the hospital's legal obligation to safeguard the confidentiality of patients' medical information, the director…

Does a picture of hospitalized Damar Hamlin with a disconnected IV line raise valid questions about his condition or medical treatment after a reported cardiac arrest on January 2, 2022? No, that's not true: The tube in Hamlin's arm shown disconnected from IV lines does not contradict his widely reported diagnosis. As the director of a nurse practitioner program told…

Was former kickboxing champion and internet influencer Andrew Tate arrested by authorities in Romania because of a speech he gave about the "matrix" -- a rigged society system he claims is designed to benefit only the rich? No, that's not true: Tate was arrested on December 29, 2022, on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and participating in an organized crime…