Nfl Football

Is the National Football League (NFL) tax-exempt? No, that's not true: A search of the IRS database for nonprofits shows the NFL is not included in that listing. The league was tax-exempt until 2015 when it voluntarily relinquished its 501(c)(6) nonprofit status, according to a report from TIME magazine published at the time. The tax exemptions only applied to the…

Did protesters block the entrance to Saint Francis Medical Center before the arrival of ambulances transporting the two Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies who had been shot in Compton on the evening of September 12, 2020? No, that's not true: Several protesters, including one who reportedly yelled "We hope they die," arrived at the hospital several hours after the ambulances…

Is a blonde woman pictured in a meme about the Los Angeles sheriff's deputies who were shot in their squad car the actual female officer who was wounded? No, that's not true. The photograph of a woman with long blonde hair in posts that have gone viral about the shooting of the deputies is not the real victim of the…

Did President Trump post a combative tweet about Colin Kaepernick ? No, that's not true: This is a fake tweet created by a sports satire site, @SavageSportsMMZ. The site's watermark is clearly visible in two places on the screenshot of the made-up tweet. The claim appeared in a Facebook post (archived here) where it was reposted by another sports satire…

Did Walmart pledge $100 million to Black Lives Matter (BLM)? No, that's not true: Walmart CEO Doug McMillon announced on June 5, 2020, that "Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are committing $100 million to create a new center on racial equity" that will "support philanthropic initiatives that align with four key areas: the nation's financial, healthcare, education, and criminal justice…

Did the NFL agree to give $250 million to Black Lives Matter (BLM)? No, that's not true: Although the football league recently announced that it would commit $250 million over 10 years to "combat systematic racism and support the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African-Americans," it made no mention of BLM. The claim appeared as a…

Did Kansas City Chief's boss Clark Hunt threaten to fire players and staff if they do not stand for the national anthem? No, that's not true: This is a made-up statement that has been falsely attributed to the CEO and part-owner of the NFL team and also to other NFL owners in the past. The claim appeared in a post…

Did Michael Vick serve more prison time for animal abuse than all the police, combined, who killed the last 493 unarmed Black men? No, that is not true: The former NFL quarterback served 18 months in Leavenworth penitentiary. And the time served by any one of a number of convicted police officers over the past five years exceeds that. The…

Was Austin's Stevie Ray Vaughan statue vandalized in 2020? Yes, that's true, but a viral image of paint on the rear side of the Vaughan memorial is from a 2018 incident blamed on a football fan after his team won the SuperBowl. A second photo showing "FTP" painted on the music icon's chest was apparently the result of a May…

Did Tim Tebow take a knee in 2012 during the playing of the national anthem? No, he did not: There is no record of the former NFL quarterback kneeling on the sideline as the national anthem was playing before a game in 2012 or any other season. The claim appeared in a meme included in a post (archived here) published…