Where some believe that sports should serve as a wholesome way to temporarily escape the troubles of the world, others advocate for league officials and professional athletes using their platform to promote ideas of social and political change. In recent times, the NFL has done its best to make the gridiron a welcoming environment for as many demographics as possible.
Advertisement
The league recently decided to bring back the usage of the slogans “End Racism” and “It Takes All of Us” on the back of the end zones, and it’s even allowing players to place decals with those same phrases on their helmets. As a result, almost no one would be surprised to hear about the NFL introducing LGBTQ themed arm bans.
What has caught people’s attention, however, is the emerging rumor that numerous star players, including Travis Hunter, are refusing to wear them.
Claim: The 2024 Heisman trophy winner and standout rookie reportedly declined the option to wear an arm band in support of the LGBTQ community ahead of his Jacksonville Jaguars’ Week 5 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. Hunter allegedly claimed that the arm band was a part of a “woke agenda” and that “football is about the game… not politics.”
Much like Hunter, the star wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, CeeDee Lamb, has also been at the center of a similar story.
Source of the rumor: The story itself has been picked up by various outlets, but the narrative appears to originate from a Jaguars fan group on Facebook. In the group, which sports the not-so-subtle name of Jacksonville Jaguars Die Hard Fans, a user account named Rosa Elie made a post alleging that Hunter “…has ignited fierce debate across the league and beyond.”
The account itself is only a few months old, as it was created in July of 2025.
Verdict: The rumor that Hunter refused to wear an LGBTQ arm band is patently false, as there has not been a single credible member of any recognized news outlet that has acknowledged this story. Considering that several of the accounts within the aforementioned Facebook group all have a lifespan of less than six months, as well as the fact that the majority of its community is sharing AI generated content, it’s safe to say that this nothing more than the work of bots created by someone who is attempting to generate some extra engagement by reporting a false and inflammatory narrative.
Thankfully, this won’t be a distraction for Hunter, who has steadily proven himself throughout the first four weeks of his rookie season. Even though he’s managed to keep his promise of playing on both sides of the ball as a pro, he’s inevitably trended towards playing more on offense than defense.
Neither fans nor his PR agents should sweat this story, as they should instead be looking forward to his highly anticipated assignment against the best quarterback in the NFL today, Patrick Mahomes.
