Fact Check: Claims Colin Kaepernick was fired as a school coach stem from satire
A satirical article claiming that former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been fired from a new job as a high school coach is being misinterpreted by social media users who believe it to be true.
A Facebook post, opens new tab (archived, opens new tab) sharing the claim reads, in part, “Colin Kaepernick was fired from his new job as a high school coach after only six games.”
The claim originates from a satirical article, opens new tab titled “Colin Kaepernick Loses His First Coaching Job After Only Six Games“ which was published by the Dunning-Kruger Times, a subsidiary of America’s Last Line of Defense. The posts sharing the claim include some of the same text used in the article.
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The “About, opens new tab” page of the website reads: “Everything on this website is fiction”. The site’s name is a reference to the Dunning-Kruger effect, opens new tab, which describes how uninformed people tend to overestimate their knowledge more than experts do.
Reuters reported that Kaepernick popularized the kneeling gesture in 2016 at pre-game renditions of the national anthem. He was a member of the San Francisco 49ers at the time and became a free agent the following season.
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Reuters found no further evidence Kaepernick accepted a position as a high school coach.
This year, Kaepernick has been involved in a collaboration with Nike, opens new tab on an apparel collection, opens new tab as well as publishing, opens new tab a new book, opens new tab.
Representatives for Kaepernick did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
VERDICT
Satire. Claims that former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was fired from a job as a high school coach originate from a satirical article.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work
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In October 2023, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was fired from his first coaching job.
Colin Kaepernick Fired From His 1st Coaching Job: “The Kids Couldn’t Stand Him”
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.”
Multiple websites copied the Latherland article verbatim, including wonderfuldreama.life, sportalix.com, goldpress.info, viral24.info, and goodtimesa.life. We found multiple Facebook posts promoting the article on the social media platform, and also received reader mail about the claim.
The article wasn’t reporting real-life events. Latherland is part of the America’s Last Line of Defense network of websites and social media accounts. It describes its articles as being humorous or satirical in nature:
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.
We’ve previously fact-checked many other satirical claims about Kaepernick, for example that his white adoptive parents had said “he’s not Black and he knows it.” That claim also originated with Latherland.
