Fact Check

Tony Romo Comes Out As Gay?

Fake news reports that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has announced he is gay and in an 'intimate relationship' with tight end Jason Witten.

Published Oct. 9, 2014

Claim:

Claim: Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo announced that he is gay and is dating his teammate Jason Witten.


FALSE


Example:   [Collected via Twitter, October 2014]


Tony Romo and Jason Witten are a gay couple.

 

Origins:   On 5 October 2014, Huzlers reprinted an article originally published in January 2014 on the Empire Sports web site, stating that Dallas Cowboys stars Tony Romo and Jason Witten had come out as gay and had admitted an ongoing "intimate relationship."

According to the article, growing acceptance of gay rights had inspired Romo and Witten to announce their love affair:


"Jason and I both felt like the time to come clean was now. With the all the acceptance of being gay now we had no reason not to. We are in love and no one can take that away from us. Since day one we felt something special between us and that eventually led to us having a relationship for several years now." said Romo who was hand in hand with lover Jason Witten next to him.

We managed to reach Candice Romo and ask for her input and she had the following to say:

I'm upset to say that least. I knew they were very close but I didnt expect them to be actually together. I love Tony and we have a family but this clearly changes everything. I am unsure what is next for our marriage and what Tony plans to do but I will raise my daughter and I hope he will continue to be a father to our child. But I do hope the best for him in what he chooses to do with himself. I still love him with all my heart".


 

However, the article was just a spoof from Huzlers, a fake news site, recycled from Empire Sports, another fake news site. The former's spoofs include a similar admission of bisexuality by Justin Bieber and a story claiming that the 2014 Super Bowl was rigged.

The Huzlers site also carries a disclaimer on its pages noting that "Huzlers.com is a combination of real shocking news and satire news to keep its visitors in a state of disbelief."

Last updated:   8 October 2015

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.