FACT CHECK: DID COWBOYS COACH MIKE MCCARTHY SUSPEND A PLAYER FOR KNEELING DURING ANTHEM?

According to CBS News, Taylor Swift’s attendance at recent NFL games has broken previous records for regular season ratings. Since it was speculated that he was dating Swift, Travis Kelce, the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, gained nearly 400,000 extra social media followers.

According to the tweet, McCarthy suspended a player for protesting during the playing of the national anthem at a recent NFL game. This information is shared textually in the post.

The post’s headline says, “A player who knelt during the National Anthem is suspended by the Dallas Cowboys coach. How stupid is that? Have we not learned anything?”

This assertion is untrue. There isn’t a single reliable news article that implies this happened. The assertion is based on a satirical piece published on the spoof website SpaceXmania. At the top of the article is a label denoting satire. According to the story, McCarthy chose to punish a wide receiver for the Cowboys for taking part in the contentious protest.

As a spoof, SpaceXmania declares itself on its website. “Please take note that the articles under the ‘SATIRE’ category are satirical in nature and should not be interpreted seriously,” the assertion goes. These articles are frequently completely made up and are intended to be amusing. (RELATED: Was Tom Hanks’ damaging information revealed by Oprah Winfrey?)

The dissemination of false information online is not new. A report that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin fired players for protesting during the playing of the National Anthem was refuted by Check Your Fact.