Fact Check

JJ Watt Caught with Drugs

Was Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt arrested for cocaine possession?

David Mikkelson

Published Nov 25, 2014

Claim:   Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was arrested for cocaine possession.

FALSE

Example:   [Collected via Twitter, November 2014]





 

Origins:   On 24 November 2014, The Daily Leak published an article claiming Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt had been arrested for cocaine possession:


Houston Texans Defensive End JJ Watt will be suspended by the NFL on Monday after violating the league's drug policy.

Watt was arrested Sunday night on possession of stolen items and an amount of cocaine suitable for personal use. Police were called to a Total Nutrition in downtown Houston, TX at approximately 6 PM EST. Along with supplements Watt had stashed in a bag police also found an "ounce of cocaine and a container of anabolic steroids," according to reports.

The police did release Watt after his arrest as he did not appear to be a threat to the public. A court date is set for coming weeks.


 

Several NFL players were arrested in 2014, a fact that may have made the Daily Leak article about J.J. Watt seem plausible to many of that web site's readers, but there was no truth to the article. The Daily Leak is a humor website that publishes fake news stories: a disclaimer on the site states "all information, data, and material contained, presented, or provided on DailyLeak.org is for entertainment purposes only."

Last updated:   25 November 2014

By David Mikkelson

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