--- title: "NFL Prospect Believes Outer Space Isn’t Real" description: "When being interviewed amid his NFL scouting, a Texas athlete admitted to believing some incredible conspiracy theories." date: "2024-03-01" modified: "2024-03-01" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nfl-prospect-flat-earth" categories: - "Space" tags: - "conspiracy theories" - "flat earth" - "nfl" - "the digest" --- # NFL Prospect Believes Outer Space Isn’t Real ![When being interviewed amid his NFL scouting, a Texas athlete admitted to believing some incredible conspiracy theories.]() *\Image: Zach Bolinger / Icon Sportswire via Getty / Futurism\* ## Shoot For the... Something While being interviewed amid his National Football League scouting, a Texas athlete admitted to believing some incredible conspiracy theories. "I don’t believe in space," Tyler Owens, a Texas Tech University defensive back, said [per *Bleacher Report*'s Brent Sobleski](). "I don’t think there’s other planets and stuff like that." When asked how he'd come to those bold conclusions, the 23-year-old [rising star]() said he'd been turned on to those sorts of ideas by consuming Flat Earth conspiracy content. "I started seeing flat Earth stuff," Owens told the *BR* reporter. “And I was like 'that’s kind of interesting' and then they started bringing up valid points." To be fair, the DB who spent most of his collegiate career at Texas University admitted that the theories *may* not hold water — but otherwise seemed pretty convinced. "I mean, I don’t know," he said. "Could be real." https://twitter.com/brentsobleski/status/1763214885142302759 ## Play Ball Unfortunately, Owens is far from the only athlete to ascribe to conspiracy theories, including Flat Earth. Back in 2017, superstar point guard Kyrie Irving — who also refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine as a [potentially conspiracy-based]() personal decision that ended up [costing him at least $100 million]() — suggested that the Earth [may not be round]() despite millennia of established science and observations that prove it is. A year later, Irving, now of the Dallas Mavericks, [apologized for the comments](), though he didn't exactly walk them back. When it comes to space, the aforementioned Texas players are in good company too. Golden State Warriors' Steph Curry, who generally shies away from controversy, seemed to question whether the [Moon landing had been faked]() — though in a podcast conversation with former astronaut Scott Kelly the next year, he claimed that comment had been made "[in jest]()." To be clear, conspiracy theorism is certainly not just a sports problem or even a [celebrity problem]() — but there does seem to be something about putting microphones or giving hundreds of millions of social media followers to people that makes them spout some mighty wild takes. **More on conspiracism:** [*Joe Rogan's Idiotic New Theory: AIDS Is Caused by Poppers*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()