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Claire Kittle, the wife of San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle, has attacked internet trolls for spreading fake quotes attributed to her husband about the death of Charlie Kirk.
Comments circulated incorrectly claiming that Kittle had slammed NFL teams for paying tribute to Kirk, who was assasinated last week at a speaking event at Utah Valley University at the age of 31.
His death promted mulitple teams to honor Kirk before the start of their games, which continued on Thursday night with the Buffalo Bills becoming the 10th team to remember him.
But a fake quote had been shared on social media of the 49ers tight end Kittle criticizing teams memorializing the MAGA supporter. It said: 'Football should be about the game, the competition and the fans - no politics. Stop bringing up Charlie Kirk, because it has nothing to do with what we do on the field.'
It sparked an angry response from Claire, who shared the comment on her Instagram story and wrote: 'This is clearly a fake quote.
'How sick is the world that someone actually took the time to write and post this and about George of all people.
Fake quotes about Charlie Kirk have been circulating online attributed to George Kittle
Wife Claire hit out on social media and said the couple have been harrassed over comments that the NFL star hasn't ever said
The NFL wag shared an angry statement about the issue on his Instagram account
'What's even more sickening is that George had to address this on social media because of the hate coming in. Leave us alone and goodnight.'
In a separate post, sharing another fake quote attributed to Kittle, she added: 'Breaking News, here's the other version.
'Do one ounce of research before jumping to conclusions. Don't attack people based off the latest headline. People suck. Be better.'
Kittle himself had addressed the comments, sharing the post on his own Instagram and writing: 'Couple of things … this is a fake quote.
'Also, that above account only posts fake news/reports, so please ignore them. The wild messages I’m receiving from people made me have to address it. Have a good night.'
Kirk was honored at the last 49ers game, which was a road game against New Orleans Saints in Louisiana.
Kittle was not playing - he is sidelined for potentially another month after hurting his hamstring in Week One of the new season.
He won't be seen until October 12 at the earliest, when the 49ers are in Florida to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The 49ers are 2-0 going into Sunday's game against Arizona Cardinals.
