Claim that the Steelers joined Chiefs in Pride night boycott mirrors satire site’s story

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs are one game apart in the National Football League standings. And if you believe social media, the teams also are close in their opposition to LGBTQ+ Pride.

"Following Chiefs, Steelers also announce boycott of Pride nights: "It’s purely woke and satanic," a Nov. 13 Facebook post said. The post included images of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and people wearing rainbow flags.

The Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Threads and Instagram.)

We found other social media posts making similar claims about the Steelers boycotting Pride night. PolitiFact has checked false claims like this before and found they originated on satire websites. Those claims were then reshared on social media without the satire disclaimer.

Add this claim to the list. The Steelers have made no announcement about boycotting Pride nights. There are no news reports about either the Steelers or Chiefs refusing to host a Pride night, nor are there any announcements on either team’s website.

(Screenshot from Facebook)

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The Facebook post linked to a Nov. 12 article on a nondescript website titled "News Today." It was credited to a writer identified only as "Amelia." The website has a plethora of dubious headlines, including that "Mike Tyson just died in the hospital" (he did not) and about the "Socking" news that Candace Owens leaked footage of rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jennifer Lopez (she did not).

In a Google search, we found a similarly worded headline about the Steelers in a Sept. 9 article on another website, SpaceXMania, where it was labeled as satire. That headline said, "Steelers Follow Chiefs in Boycotting Pride Nights: "Satanic And Purely Woke Agenda."

SpaceXMania’s "about us" page says its mission is "to bring you the freshest fake news, some sassy analysis, and a good dose of satire."

The text of the News Today and SpaceXMania articles is different, but each describes a Tomlin press conference that never happened. The "News Today" website had an embedded photo of Tomlin next to an NFL Pride sign. We found the same image on a Sept. 8 Facebook post by SpaceX fan club, where the image contained a satire logo. 

We found no evidence of an NFL-mandated Pride night for the Steelers and Chiefs to boycott. Pride month is in June, during the NFL’s offseason. The NFL has been supportive of LGBTQ+ players and fans, and many teams have shown their support on social media during Pride month. Teams including the Chiefs and Steelers sell LGBTQ+-themed merchandise, and the NFL for three years has co-hosted with GLAAD a Night of Pride during Super Bowl week in February. 

We contacted the NFL via email but received no response.

The claim that the Steelers joined the Chiefs in boycotting Pride nights originated on a satire website. Neither team has announced any such move. The claim is False.