Fact Check: Did Jalen Hurts create the Renee Good Hope Scholarship Fund?
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Recent posts circulating online have claimed that NFL quarterback Jalen Hurts personally created a scholarship fund in honor of Renee Nicole Good, the Minneapolis woman who was fatally shot by an ICE agent. The claim gained traction on social media sprarking speculations about its authenticity. Let us fact-check the rumor.
Claim: Jalen Hurts started the Renee Good scholarship
According to one of the posts that made the claim, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts kick-started the fund himself, contributing $300,000 of his own money.
On January 20, a user managing the NFL Pulse Facebook page posted an image collage of three pictures allegedly showing Hurts hugging Good's 6-year-old son on a football field, Good holding her son in front of a body of water, and Hurts walking inside a football stadium.
According to the post’s text, Good's tragic death inspired Hurts to launch the Renee Good Hope Scholarship Fund, including the $300,000 contribution.
Fact Check: The claim is false
The rumor, however, is false, and it was detected that the claim was created and spread using images and texts generated by AI.
The NFL Pulse Facebook post and other posts sharing the rumor featured links leading to articles filled with advertisements hosted on WordPress blogs. The post redirected to an article on one such untrustworthy website.
A search on Google also did not produce results leading to any credible news source supporting the claim. If the claim were true, news outlets would have widely reported on the story.
The fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good
The shooting occurred amid a federal immigration enforcement surge targeting the Twin Cities area on January 7.
The operation involved a significant deployment of federal agents across Minneapolis and St Paul, marking one of the most aggressive crackdowns in the region in recent years.
The ICE agent who shot Renee was identified as Jonathan Ross. Video footage from the scene shows Renee Nicole Ross confronting Good near her car and approaching the front of the SUV.
Renee Good is heard saying, “That’s fine, dude, I’m not mad at you.” Another officer is then heard giving orders for her to get out of the car.
As Ross turns towards the front of the car, Becca Good, Renee's partner, who was present near the scene, appears to say, “Drive.” Renee then turns the steering wheel to her right, away from the officer, and begins to move, after which Ross fired multiple shots at point-blank range.
In Ross’ body cam footage, he can be heard shouting before firing, and another agent was heard saying, “F***ing B*tch.”
