A post shared on social media purports the Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has suspended players for kneeling during the National Anthem.

Dallas Cowboy coach suspends a player who knelt during the National Anthem….how stupid….have we not learned anything???

— George (@Nijm11) September 26, 2023

Verdict: False

The claim is inaccurate. There is no evidence this occurred.

Fact Check:

Taylor Swift’s presence at recent NFL games has set records for regular season ratings, CBS News reported. The Kansas City Chiefs’ Tight End Travis Kelce has seen his social media followers boost by almost 400,000 since he has been rumored to be dating Swift.

The Twitter post purports that during a recent NFL game McCarthy suspended a player for kneeling during the Anthem. The post shares this information in text.

The post reads, “Dallas Cowboy coach suspends a player who knelt during the National Anthem….how stupid….have we not learned anything???”

This claim is inaccurate.  There is no credible news report that suggests this incident occurred. The claim stems from a satirical article that was posted by the parody website, SpaceXmania. The article features a satire label at the top of the article. The article says that in a response to the controversial protest McCarthy decided to suspend one of the Cowboys’ wide receivers for engaging in the protest.

The SpaceXmania website identifies itself as a satire. They claim “Please note that the articles 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.” (RELATED: Did Oprah Winfrey Reveal Damaging Information About Tom Hanks?)

This is not the first time misinformation has been shared online. Check Your Fact debunked a claim that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin fired players for kneeling during the National Anthem.