Fact Check: No, ESPN did not run article about Brittney Griner with photo of Larry Fitzgerald
The claim: Image shows ESPN published a photo of Larry Fitzgerald in an article about Brittney Griner
Brittney Griner returned to the U.S. after being detained in a Russian prison for nearly 10 months. The Biden administration had spent months negotiating a prisoner swap with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime to allow her release.
The event sparked national media attention. But a viral image falsely portrays a news story about Griner.
The Dec. 9 Instagram post (direct link, archived link) shows an ESPN article with a headline that reads, "Brittney Griner freed in U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange."
The post shows a photo of former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald embedded in the article, appearing as if it were used instead of a photo of Griner.
"This Is Crazy," the caption reads, "That Not Her ...... THE DISRESPECT IS REAL."
The post received more than 1,000 likes in less than a week. Another version of the image was shared on Facebook by UFC middleweight Derek Brunson.
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The image in the post is altered. The ESPN article is authentic, but it does not and did not ever include a photo of Fitzgerald, archived versions of the article and an ESPN spokesperson confirmed.
Paste BN reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.
ESPN spokesperson said image is fabricated
"This was a fabrication," said Andy Hall, an ESPN spokesperson, "At no point did ESPN use a photo of Larry Fitzgerald with this story."
Indeed, live and archived versions of the ESPN article have a video about Griner where the viral post inserts a picture of Fitzgerald.
Griner was wrongfully detained in a Russian penal colony after pleading guilty to drug charges for carrying cannabis oil in her luggage. She said she accidentally packed the cartridges in her luggage. She was convicted and sentenced to nine years in prison.
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Griner, who is Black and openly gay, has long faced attacks for her appearance. Her autobiography, titled "In My Skin," shares her experiences with bullying as she was growing up.
Paste BN previously debunked a claim about a fabricated CNN report about a DNA test and Griner.
The Associated Press, Reuters, AFP Fact Check and CheckYourFact also fact-checked the claim that ESPN used a photo of Fitzgerald in this context.
Our rating: Altered
Based on our research, we rate ALTERED the claim that an image shows ESPN published a photo of Fitzgerald in an article about Griner. An ESPN spokesperson confirmed the image is fabricated, and the real article about Griner never had an image of Fitzgerald in it.
Our fact-check sources:
- Andy Hall, Dec. 13, Email interview with Paste BN
- Paste BN, Dec. 8, Prisoner swap negotiations with Russia over Brittney Griner were 'painstaking, extraordinary'
- ESPN, April 3, 2014, Griner takes aim at fighting bullying
- New York Times, Aug. 4, Russian Court Sentences Griner to 9 Years, Raising Pressure on Biden
- The Associated Press, Dec. 9, ESPN did not use photo of ex-NFL player in Brittney Griner article
- Reuters, Dec. 9, Fact Check-ESPN did not mistakenly publish image of Larry Fitzgerald in article on Brittney Griner release
- AFP Fact Check, Dec. 12, Posts spread fake ESPN article after Brittney Griner's release
- CheckYourFact, Dec. 13, Fact Check: Did ESPN publish this article about Brittney Griner with an image of Larry Fitzgerald instead?
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