The upcoming presidential election in the United States was turned on its head when incumbent Joe Biden decided to end his re-election campaign earlier this month, a decision that has led the Democratic Party to coalesce around Kamala Harris, Biden‘s vice president, as its next standard-bearer. Harris is expected to receive the Democratic nomination officially in August, at the party’s national convention in Chicago — and that expectation has led to historic fundraising figures as she closes in on Republican nominee Donald Trump in the polls.

Harris’ candidacy has ignited a younger demographic that was unsure about voting for Biden this November. Her campaign has attracted celebrity endorsements and a wave of optimism, but anticipation reached a fever pitch Monday night when social media users claimed that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was attending a Zoom call in support of Harris.

The truth is revealed

Despite the social media furor, the Bengals on Tuesday confirmed that Burrow was not a part of the “White Dudes for Harris” call, nor did he sit on a related YouTube fundraiser that allegedly racked up more than $4 million in donations.

The speculation that Burrow is a Harris supporter and stopped by to listen or to donate seems to have been propped up by a donation sent from someone named “Joe B.” Naturally, excitable X/Twitter users spread the rumor like wildfire that “Joe B” was Burrow, a former Heisman Trophy winner at LSU who helped the Bengals reach the Super Bowl following the 2021 NFL season.

The amount of viral tweets centered on Burrow’s “support” for Harris led to the Bengals’ decision to quash the rumors, as Cincinnati is focused on returning to the NFL playoffs after a disappointing 2023 season. Burrow played only 10 games before he suffered a season-ending wrist injury, and the Bengals finished last in the AFC North with a 9-8 record.