Fact Check

Did an Oakland A's Shortstop Wear a Shirt Reading 'Kill the NRA'?

Protests by professional athletes have not yet reached this extreme, outside the world of fake news.

Published May 10, 2018

Claim:
An Oakland A's shortstop laid on his back during the playing of the national anthem, while wearing a shirt reading "Kill the NRA."

On 5 May 2018, the Facebook page for the America's Last Line of Defense web site posted a meme proclaiming that an Oakland A's shortstop had lain on his back during the playing of the national anthem, while wearing a shirt reading "Kill the NRA":

None of this was true: No such incident took place (or was reported to have taken place), nor does the Oakland A's baseball team have a player named Percy Brownman on their roster.

This meme is simply a fabrication created by America’s Last Line of Defense, a site that is part of a network of fake news sites dedicated to spreading political misinformation and disinformation under the guise of proffering “satire.”

The "About" section of the Facebook page for America’s Last Line of Defense notes that "Nothing on this page is real. It is a collection of the satirical whimsies of liberal trolls masquerading as conservatives."

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

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