Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin ‘Directed’ Team Not to Participate in Pride Month: A Fact-Checking Exercise
In recent weeks, social media has been abuzz with a viral claim that Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin directed his team not to participate in Pride Month activities, calling it “woke crap.” The claim has sparked heated debates and drawn sharp reactions from fans, advocacy groups, and fellow athletes. However, a closer examination of the facts reveals that this claim is entirely false and originated from a site that specializes in satire.
The claim first surfaced on June 7, 2024, on Esspots.com, a website that explicitly describes its content as fictitious and created for entertainment purposes only. The article, titled “Breaking: Steelers’ Coach Tomlin Directs Team To Not Participate In Pride Month, ‘It’s Woke Crap’,” claimed that Tomlin made the announcement at a news conference, stating that Pride Month had “no place in our team activities.” The article was later shared on the SpaceX Fanclub Facebook page, where it gained significant traction.
However, a review of Tomlin’s recent press conferences and statements reveals that he never made such comments. In fact, the Steelers’ official social media accounts have not made any public statements acknowledging Pride Month, although the team’s community relations account did post a picture on June 1 after some staff members participated in a local pride parade.
The claim’s origins in satire are evident from the disclaimer on Esspots.com, which clearly labels its content as fictional and intended for entertainment purposes only. The website’s disclaimer reads:
“Welcome to Esspots.com, a website that specializes in satire, parody, and humor. Before you proceed to read our content, we would like to emphasize that nothing on this website is real. All of the articles, stories, and commentary found on Esspots.com are entirely fictitious and created for the purpose of entertainment only. We understand that satire can sometimes be mistaken for actual news or events, but we want to make it clear that we do not publish factual or accurate information. We do not intend to deceive or mislead our readers in any way, and all of our content should be taken with a grain of salt.”
Despite this disclaimer, the claim spread rapidly across social media platforms, with many users assuming it was true. The lack of any credible news reports or official statements from the Steelers or Tomlin himself further supports the fact that this claim is entirely false.
the claim that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin directed his team not to participate in Pride Month activities, calling it “woke crap,” is a fabrication that originated from a site specializing in satire. The claim has no basis in reality and is a prime example of how misinformation can spread quickly through social media. It is essential for users to verify information through credible sources before sharing it to avoid perpetuating false narratives.