Oregon football receiver Traeshon Holden apologizes for spitting on Ohio State cornerback

Question

“I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during our recent game,” Holden wrote. “My actions were not only disrespectful but also a betrayal of the values of sportsmanship, integrity, and respect that I strive to embody as a student-athlete. To my Oregon family, I am truly sorry for letting you down. You have shown me the importance of teamwork, discipline, and respect, and my actions in that moment did not reflect these core principles. I recognize that this has negatively affected our team’s reputation, and I deeply regret putting us in that situation. “To Ohio State, I offer my sincerest apologies for my behavior. It was completely unacceptable and a momentary lapse in judgment. I want to emphasize that this incident does not reflect who I am as a person or the values I aim to uphold. Moving forward, I am committed to making meaningful changes, not only in managing my emotions during competition both in setting a better example for my teammates and the broader community. I am determined to demonstrate growth and maturity, both on and off the field, and I hope to earn back the trust of those I’ve let down.“This incident has been a valuable lesson, and I am dedicated to becoming a better player, teammate, and a positive role model in our community.”Holden had one catch for 32 yards prior to the incident, which resulted in Oregon’s No. 3 receiver being penalized for flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct and he was ejected from the game with 11:31 remaining in the second quarter.

Answer 1

This claim is true.

The article presents itself as relevant and the information aligns with the title. It includes actual quotes of Treashon Holden on X apologizing. 

He quotes "I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during our recent game. My actions were not only disrespectful but also a betrayal of the values of sportsmanship, integrity, and respect that I strive to embody as a student athlete." (Holden 2024). 

He later admits that he is dedicated to make a change in his behavior moving forward. 

The second-hand source that this claim is coming from is The Oregonian. It is a reliable source according to the site "Media Bias Fact Check" labeled "least biased." They are committed to factual reporting and credible sourcing of information. They have had a racist and xenophobic past, but the editor of The Oregonian is committed to making it less based off of harmful biases and more about diversifying and taking steps to improve for their future "I pledge to keep readers informed as we assess our steps toward more inclusive — and accurate — journalism. I will be transparent about our progress, or lack thereof, in building a newsroom that reflects our community."

The article itself does not contain any racial bias or opinionated choices, rather a factual and analytical take on this claim. 

 The writer of this article is an experienced (14 years) sports journalist, James Crepea who specialization in covering the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten news, only adding to higher credibility to factual reporting. On top of that James was "recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors, Football Writers Association of America, Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association, Best of the West, National Headliner Awards, Alabama Press Association, Alabama Sports Writers Association and Alabama Associated Press Media Editors."  James writes in a way that is entirely factual and informing to the public. 

Lastly, ESPN has covered the same story. ESPN has high credibility within the sports community and has fact-checkers to make sure the information is correct. 

Sources

https://x.com/Traeski11/status/1845589874403148233

https://www.oregonlive.com/staff/JamesCrepea/posts.html

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/41761279/ducks-traeshon-holden-tossed-spitting-buckeyes-davison-igbinosun

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/oregonian/

Comments

The extensive background research you gave on the news source providing the information is very helpful. The additional research on the specific author and their background.

Answer 2

This is True. After browsing on X (previously twitter) a tweet from Oregon's Traeshon Holden was made October 13th expressing Holdens regrets. The statement says "I want to sincerely apologize for my actions during our recent game...To my Oregon family, I am truly sorry for letting you down. You have shown me the importance of teamwork, discipline, and respect, and my actions in that moment did not reflect these core principles." This tweet has also been republished by many Oregon news outlets including The Oregonian, KGW and more.

https://x.com/Traeski11/status/1845589874403148233

Comments

It is true that he appologived, but it was over 80% ai generated. my source is zero gpt

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The direct post of the letter from the author is an excellent source.

Answer 3

The main claim is that Traeshon Holden apologized for spitting on an Ohio player during the football game on October 12th (UO vs OSU ). Currently, there are about six other articles with similar titles posted, even though this was a fairly recent event. The article includes quotes from his apology which is originally sourced to a social media post from Traeshon’s Twitter/X account. The article is true because the source is legitimate since it was written and posted by Traeshon himself.

Twitter (X) post: https://x.com/Traeski11/status/1845589874403148233

Answer 4

This claim is true. It has been reported on by other reputable sites such as KGW, The Columbia Dispatch and ON SI. Also James Crepea, the author of this article, is a Big Ten sports reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive which adds to his credibility.

Comments

Don't forget to include source links within all your fact-checks. Thanks!

Answer 5

This claim is true. The claim provided is an exact copy and paste of the official letter issued by Traeshon Holden. In the week 7 matchup #2 Ohio State @ #3 Oregon Traeshon Holden spat on a Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun's visor. Traeshon Holden was suspended from the game and also their week 8 matchup against Purdue. The apology letter was made public Sunday October 13th. Traeshon Holden posted the official letter to his Instagram account as well.