NEED TO KNOW

• San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle and his wife Claire called out a fake quote attributed to him claiming he was against tributes to late right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk
• George and Claire slammed the quote, which claimed George said Kirk and politics have “no place in the NFL”
• Claire said, “Don’t attack people based off the latest headline,” in an Instagram Story

George and Claire Kittle are setting the record straight after a fake quote about Charlie Kirk attributed to the San Francisco 49ers star received backlash.

Posts circulating on social media claimed George, 31, had criticized the tributes at NFL games to right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk following his death on Sept. 10. The posts claimed that George said he’s “seen politics being dragged into” football “far too often” and while “Charlie Kirk may matter to some,” he has “no place in the NFL.”

George called out the fake quote on his Instagram Stories on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

“Couple of things…this is a fake quote. I hope most of you realize that,” the 49ers tight end, who is currently out with hamstring injury, said, noting that the account sharing the quote “only posts fake news/reports, please ignore them.”

“The wild messages I’m receiving from people made me have to address it,” he added.

His wife Claire, 30, also notified her followers of the fake quote on her Instagram Stories. “This is clearly a fake quote. How sick is the world that someone actually took the time to write and post this & about George of all people,” she wrote.

“What’s even more sickening is the fact that George had to address this on social media because of the hate coming in. Leave us alone & goodnight.”

In a second post on her Story, Claire said the quote is also circulating on Facebook, and implored fans to “do one ounce of research before jumping to conclusions.”

“Don’t attack people based off the latest headline. People suck. Be better,” she said.

Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 during a campus event at Utah Valley University. Videos circulating on social media from the event appear to show Kirk seemingly being struck in the side of the head or neck while addressing the crowd from beneath a white pop-up tent.

Several NFL teams held moments of silence over the weekend in honor of Kirk, including the Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and others.

Read the original article on People