Fact Check: Colin Kaepernick Gets Fired from His 1st Coaching Job?
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Claim:
In October 2023, former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick was fired from his first coaching job.
Rating:
On Oct. 25, 2023, the Latherland website published an article claiming that 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.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.
Sources:
ABOUT US -. http://box5884.temp.domains/~dunning2/latherland/about-us/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023.
America’s Last Line Of Defense Archives | Snopes.Com. https://www.snopes.com/tag/americas-last-line-of-defense/. Accessed 30 Oct. 2023.
Liles, Jordan. “Did Colin Kaepernick’s Adopted Parents ‘Come Clean’ and Say ‘He’s Not Really Black and He Knows It’?” Snopes, 25 Oct. 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kaepernicks-parents-come-clean/.
Mikkelson, David. “Why We Include Humor and Satire in Snopes.Com.” Snopes, 15 Aug. 2019, https://www.snopes.com/notes/why-we-include-humor-and-satire-in-snopes-com/.
