Unbelievable: Due to a setback, the head coach of the New York Jets announced her departure from the team.
The Dunning-Kruger Times reported on September 18, 2023, that “Joe Barron,” who is purportedly the head coach of the New York Jets, had threatened to resign immediately if Colin Kaepernick joined the team.
After starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers of the Jets tore his Achilles tendon during a game on September 11, 2023, the rumor started to circulate. According to ESPN, the team was anticipated to bring in a seasoned quarterback following the injury. Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has not appeared for an NFL team since January 2017, raising the possibility that team owners have blackballed him for starting to protest during the playing of the national anthem in August 2016.
According to the Dunning-Kruger Times article:
Jets Head Coach: If the team signs Colin Kaepernick, he’ll resign “on the spot.”
The Jets front office realized they had a problem when Aaron Rodgers wheeled off the field. They do have the required backup quarterback, but they do not have the long arms of a certain type of quarterback.
Let’s welcome Colin Kaepernick. Even though he hasn’t played in six years, in the third week of September, he’s still probably the best quarterback available. But he’s still not worth it for head coach Joe Barron.
The assertion was untrue. As of this writing, “Joe Barron” isn’t even the official name of the Jets’ head coach.
The article from the Dunning-Kruger Times was discovered on Facebook. According to the comments section of the post, some individuals thought the head coach of the Jets had actually stated he would resign if Kaepernick was signed by the team. One other website, America Trends, reposted the Dunning-Kruger Times article verbatim. SpaceXMania, a different website, released its own analysis of the assertion. We also got emails from readers inquiring about it.
The following is how The Dunning-Kruger Times characterizes its content as humorous or satirical:
This website contains only fictional content. Since it isn’t true, it can’t be considered a lie or fake news. You ought to have your mind examined if you think it’s true. Any likenesses between the pure fantasy on this site and real people, places, and events are coincidental at best, and all images ought to be regarded as modified satire.
The article from SpaceXMania was satirical as well. You can read the site’s own disclaimers regarding its content on the “About Us” and “Disclaimer” pages.
There were additional signs that the statement was untrue. The real head coach of the Jets, Robert Saleh, was not mentioned in either article. He was hired in 2021 and became the first Muslim coach in NFL history. According to the Dunning-Kruger Times article, the head coach was “Joe Barron,” a nickname that appears frequently in the website’s satirical stories, according to the Associated Press.
In addition, credible news and sports publications would probably run big stories if an NFL coach announced his resignation in the middle of the season due to a particular player being added to the roster. We could not find any proof that the claim had been covered by any respectable publications.
We’ve previously investigated the veracity of other parodies involving Kaepernick, such as the idea that the NFL turned down his plea for active status and advised him to focus on his hair product line.
