Fact check: Uпiversity of Texas Stυdeпt Kпeeliпg Dυriпg Natioпal Aпthem Immediately Expelled From School

1. Summary of the results

The claim about University of Texas students being expelled for kneeling during the national anthem is definitively false. Multiple key findings support this:

• No credible news sources could corroborate this claim ^[1]
• The story originated from SpaceXMania.com, a satirical website that explicitly states its content is "often entirely made up" ^[2]
• University of Texas Associate Athletics Director John Bianco directly stated "There's no truth to this rumor" ^[3]
• The NCAA manual does not list kneeling during anthem as grounds for scholarship revocation ^[1]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements are missing from the original statement:

• The image being circulated with this claim actually shows the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team from 2021, not University of Texas students ^{[4] [5]}
• University of Texas System Chancellor Bill McRaven addressed anthem protests in 2016, explicitly stating that "no one should be compelled to stand" during the anthem ^[4]
• NCAA bylaws specifically prevent schools from revoking scholarships during an academic year without specific serious misconduct ^[5]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The spread of this misinformation appears to be part of a larger pattern:

• Multiple fact-checking organizations including Soch Fact Check, Reuters, USA Today, PolitiFact, and Snopes have had to investigate and debunk this claim ^[3]
• Similar false claims about athletes being punished for kneeling have been repeatedly debunked by Snopes ^[2]
• The story uses misleading imagery, combining photos from different institutions and time periods:
• University of Tennessee basketball ^[6]
• Kennesaw State University cheerleaders ^{[7] [5]}

This type of misinformation typically benefits groups seeking to discourage protest actions and create fear among student athletes considering similar demonstrations. The satirical origin of the story has been weaponized into seemingly legitimate news, demonstrating how satire can be misused to spread false narratives.