Did entrepreneur Elon Musk say he was considering buying the New York Jets to keep National Football League player turned American civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick off the football team? No, that's not true: This claim initially appeared in an article on a satirical website known for publishing fabricated content. There is otherwise no publicly available or credible evidence to support this claim.
The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by SpaceXMania on September 30, 2023, under the title "BREAKING: Elon Musk Ponders Jets Acquisition to Prevent Colin Kaepernick's Inclusion in the Team." It began:
In the ever-evolving landscape of professional sports, unexpected and audacious decisions often take center stage. The latest headline-grabbing twist involves none other than Elon Musk, the enigmatic CEO of Twitter, contemplating the acquisition of the New York Jets, seemingly with the sole purpose of preventing Colin Kaepernick from joining the team. It's a move that combines the worlds of technology, social media, and American football into an intriguing narrative that has captivated fans and pundits alike.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: SpaceXMania.com screenshot taken on Tue May 14 16:58:40 2024 UTC)
This article did not cite any credible sources that could substantiate this claim.
The "About Satire" section on the "Disclaimer" page (archived here) of the SpaceXMania.com website, in part, reads:
Please note that the article under the category 'SATIRE' are satirical in nature and are not meant to be taken seriously. These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up. We make no claim that the information presented in these articles is true or accurate.
Lead Stories did a search using keywords on Google, which is visible here, and found no credible documents or reporting to corroborate the claim.
Lead Stories reached out to the New York Jets for a statement regarding the validity of this claim. This fact check will be updated if a response is received.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks mentioning the SpaceXMania website and Elon Musk can be read here and here.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks mentioning the New York Jets and Colin Kaepernick can be read here.
