DeAndre Hopkins Impersonator Perfectly Dupes Tennessee Titans Reporter, Gets Him To Publish Fake Quotes

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Always double-check sources! That's a pillar of journalism taught in every journalism school in the country. Tennessee Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky learned the hard way what can happen if you let your guard down for even a moment. A DeAndre Hopkins impersonator gave Kuharsky fake quotes, which he then published.

Kuharsky later had to issue an apology after Hopkins himself -- the real one -- reached out and said the quotes were not legitimate.

Here's how it went down.

After the wide receiver signed with the Tennessee Titans, Kuharsky texted DeAndre Hopkins asking for comment. Standard journalistic procedure.

The problem? Hopkins had changed his phone number. Kuharsky did not know that.

Longtime NFL and Tennessee Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky fell for a prank by a DeAndre Hopkins impersonator.

Longtime NFL and Tennessee Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky fell for a prank by a DeAndre Hopkins impersonator. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

So the person who received the text -- at this point an unknown individual -- could have said "sorry, wrong number."

Instead, he or she decided to have some fun at Kuharsky's expense.

Kuharsky tweeted out that he and Hopkins texted. He later deleted the tweet, but a Reddit user had already posted it on a message board.

"Texted briefly with Titans‘ DeAndre Hopkins. 'The team is just amazing all around. Great guys, great coach, great staff.' Asked about the influence of Tim Kelly, his OC in HOU in 2019 who’s with TEN now. 'A lot. Great guy. Write that. Pretty boy Kelly. That’s his new name,'" Kuharsky reportedly wrote.

New Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins tells reporter that the quotes weren't real

The real DeAndre Hopkins contacted Kuharsky to tell him that he never said that.

"So DeAndre Hopkins reached out to me about a Thursday tweet where I shared a few quotes I believed I got from him in a text exchange," Kuharsky wrote on his website.

"It turns out they were from someone with an old phone number of his who decided to play me by acting as if he was Hopkins when I reached out."

Former Houston Texans offensive coordinator and current Tennessee Titans OC Tim Kelly got a new nickname courtesy of a DeAndre Hopkins impersonator.

Former Houston Texans offensive coordinator and current Tennessee Titans OC Tim Kelly got a new nickname courtesy of a DeAndre Hopkins impersonator. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Massive credit to the person who pulled this off. See, there's a very fine line you have to walk to make this work as a prank.

If you give the reporter quotes that are too ridiculous, he's going to know it's fake. If you give quotes that are too generic, then it's not a good prank.

But this person worked in some generic quotes that Hopkins absolutely might say. Then they snuck in just enough personality to keep it legit, but still execute the prank.

Saying that the offensive coordinator's new nickname is "Pretty Boy Kelly" is pretty funny. And something that Hopkins might actually say. Except, he didn't.

However, the quotes got some traction in NFL circles. Therefore, Kelly's nickname might actually stick.

Wouldn't that be something? An NFL offensive coordinator gets a nickname from someone pretending to be DeAndre Hopkins and it becomes his nickname?

That's how you properly prank a reporter, and really everyone else.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.