Was Colin Kaepernick "fired from his new job as a high school coach" after only six games because kids couldn't stand him? No, that's not true: The claim is derived from an article copied from a satirical website known for publishing fabricated content to embarrass conservatives who repost it as true. That website displays a disclaimer that reads, "Everything on this website is fiction."
The claim appeared in a post on Facebook (archived here) on November 18, 2023. The caption opened:
Colin Kaepernick was fired from his new job as a high school coach after only six games.
"The kids couldn't stand him."
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Nov 20 16:50:33 2023 UTC)
In the lower right-hand corner of the photo in the post, beside an image of pro football player and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick being interviewed, a plainly edited logo placed on a cell phone case is seen displaying a caricature of a man wearing a superhero costume with text beneath it that reads, "ALLOD." This same photo of Kaepernick with the same logo originated from a November 10, 2023, article on the satirical Dunning-Kruger Times (archived here) titled, "Colin Kaepernick Loses His First Coaching Job After Only Six Games." The Dunning-Kruger Times is part of the ALLOD ("America's Last Line Of Defense") network of satirical sites.
This article opened:
As the 6th game of the season came to an end, with six more to play, the principal of Joseph Barron Senior High School in Des Moines had no choice. He had to fire the new coach -- former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick took the job quietly to stay tethered to football, but from the start, things went poorly. "The kids couldn't stand him," said Principal Jack Bowman, "He just had a way of...pissing people off."
A Google News search (archived here) using the keywords "Colin Kaepernick Loses His First Coaching Job After Only Six Games at Joseph Barron Senior High School in Des Moines" did not produce any results to substantiate this claim.
The article continued:
ALLOD Sportsball Analyzer Tara Newhole says the bookies in Vegas had him lasting between one and three seasons, so anyone who bet the under is in really good shape right now.
There is no evidence that an "ALLOD Sportsball Analyzer" named "Tara Newhole" exists; the name is a phonetic pun for the colloquial phrase for an abusive critique and "Sportsball" is a derogatory term non-fans of sports use to describe games revered by sports fans.
This website is run by self-described liberal troll Christopher Blair, who frequently uses a variation of the name of a deceased friend, Joe Barron, in stories as an homage.
Lead Stories reached out to representatives of Kaepernick for a statement on this claim and will update this fact check if a response is received.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims related to Colin Kaepernick can be found here.
The Dunning-Kruger Times
The Dunning-Kruger Times is a satirical website with an about page (archived here) that has the following disclaimer:
About Us
Dunning-Kruger-Times.com is a subsidiary of the 'America's Last Line of Defense' network of parody, satire, and tomfoolery, or as Snopes called it before they lost their war on satire: Junk News
About Satire
Before you complain and decide satire is synonymous with 'comedy':
sat·ire ˈsaˌtī(ə)r noun: The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, OR ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.
The website is named after the Dunning-Kruger effect, a term from a psychology experiment that describes the phenomenon of being ignorant of one's own ignorance. (That experiment has been disputed by a math professor.)
