Athletes

Was German former Formula One race car driver Michael Schumacher in a coma for six years after a skiing accident? And did his wife Corinna go into bankruptcy to fund her husband's medical treatment? No, that's not true: Michael Schumacher suffered traumatic brain injury when he fell and hit his head on a rock while skiing in Meribel in the…

Will a Mormon athlete named Rebecca Washington replace U.S. runner Sha'Carri Richardson on the U.S. Olympic team? No, that's not true: This claim comes from a post made by a parody Twitter account; the runner replacing Richardson is not named Rebecca Washington. The claim appeared in the screenshot of a tweet on an Instagram post (archived here) on July 5,…

Did Shelby Houlihan, an American runner poised to run in the Tokyo Olympics, receive a less harsh punishment than Sha'Carri Richardson, another potential American Olympic runner, when Olympic officials found out they both had banned substances in their bodies? No, that's not true: Houlihan got suspended for four years, while Richardson's suspension is for a month. The claim appeared in…

Did U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps get a lighter penalty than U.S. runner Sha'Carri Richardson for smoking marijuana? No, that's not true: Phelps was suspended from competition for three months, while Richardson was suspended for one month. The timing of the suspensions, however, made the impact of the suspensions seem harsher for Richardson. Phelps' suspension came six months after he…

Are 'giant' sculptures going to be built in 21 states in 2021? No, that's not true: The company creating them plans to use the structures to showcase quasi-animated images of heroes, athletes and celebrities once they have found investors in 21 cities that would want one. The claim originated in an Instagram post (archived here) on June 14, 2021, by…

Did a doctor prove that transgender girls have no performance advantage over cisgender girls in athletics? No, that's not true: Contrary to the claim in a British website's headline, medical researchers have documented trans women's performance advantage over cisgender women, although the advantage starts to shrink once trans women start taking hormones. There is no peer-reviewed study cited to support…

Did Foot Locker donate "200 million dollars to BLM"? No, there is no evidence the company made a donation to Black Lives Matter. The athletic gear company made an announcement in 2020 that it was "committing $200 million over the next five years towards enhancing the lives of our team members and our customers in the Black Community through Economic…

Did Robert Downey Jr. blow the whistle on an elite Hollywood pedophile ring? No, that's not true: Robert Downey Jr.'s representative told Fox News he never made the comments being falsely attributed to him about a purported Hollywood pedophile ring. The claim originated on NeonNettle.com, but that story was since deleted. It re-appeared as an article (archived here) originally published…

Did the Federal Government cancel an eighty million dollar contract with Nike after the announcement the company gave Colin Kaepernick a contract to appear in their ads? No, that's not true: the government contract is completely fictional and was invented by a liberal site which tries to get gullible conservatives and Trump supporters to share fake news. The entire story…

Did the Miami Dolphins fire two kneeling players just before the pre-season kickoff? No, that's not true: the "news" was published by a satirical website that tries to get conservatives and Trump supporters to like and share over-the-top fake news with plenty of satire disclaimers and hints spread around the page so fans of the site can then mock them…