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In September 2017, amid renewed controversy around football players kneeling during the U.S. national anthem to protest police targeting of African Americans, the satirical web site AsAmericanAsApplePie.com falsely reported that the Cleveland Browns and certain other National Football League (NFL) teams had been forced to refund season tickets, with the Browns refunding 90%. At the time that the As American As Apple Pie article was published, Fox News had not reported any of these claims. It's true that at the time some fans on Twitter claimed to have demanded refunds for season tickets, angry at NFL team owners' support for players who protested during the national anthem on the opening Sunday of the season. There have been reports that DirectTV has given some customers a refund on NFL season packages, in light of the protests, but we were unable to confirm the veracity of these reports. President Donald Trump added fuel to the fire of an ongoing debate about such protests by saying owners faced with a protesting player should get that son of a bitch off the field, and encouraging fans to boycott NFL games unless protesting players were fired or suspended. Trump's comments seemed only to have solidified many team owners' support for their players. Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan even locked arms with protesting players during the national anthem before a game against the Baltimore Ravens on 24 September 2017. Dee and Jimmy Haslam, owners of the Cleveland Browns - whom As American As Apple Pie claims have been forced to refund 90% of season tickets - released a statement expressing support for protesting players, and criticism of President Trump's intervention. As American As Apple Pie is a satirical web site, though many mistake their content for real news. The site describes itself this way:
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