An article shared on Facebook claims the NBA told President Donald Trump to “resign or we’ll never play again.”

Facebook/Screenshot

Verdict: False

There is no evidence that NBA players voted to suspend the season until Trump leaves office. The article originated on a satire news website.

Fact Check:

The NBA indefinitely suspended the 2019-2020 season on March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert became the first known NBA player to test positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. (RELATED: Did LeBron James Tell The NBA, ‘Dump The Anthem, Or I’ll Quit’?)

SCE News published an article March 23 that claims the NBA suspended the season, not because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but rather because Trump remains in office. It cites anonymous sources who supposedly confirmed that the suspension “has been in the making for months and that they were simply looking for a good excuse to shut it all down.”

“The players, led by Washington Generals All-Star Power Forward Art Tubolls, held a secret vote prior to the beginning of the season to suspend the league for any credible reason until President Donald Trump resigns from office or is voted out,” reads the article. “Since much of the league is made up of Hollywood actor and musician wannabes, these millionaire crybabies overwhelmingly voted to approve the measure.”

There is, however, no evidence that NBA players secretly voted to suspend games until Trump leaves office. The story actually comes from Bustatroll.org, a parody news website that describes itself as part of a network that publishes “parody, satire, and tomfoolery.” Yet, while Bustatroll.org disclaims the satirical nature of its content, SCE News and other websites fail to make that distinction, portraying it as real.

During a recent NBA Board of Governors meeting, commissioner Adam Silver said the league is “not in a position to make any decisions” about when games could resume, ESPN reported.