Deep Fake or Cover Up? Kadarius Toney Blames Artificial Intelligence for Outburst on Instagram

Kansas City Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney went viral for ranting on Instagram Live ahead of the AFC Championship Game. Now, he has a bizarre claim regarding the incident.

Shortly ahead of the AFC Championship Game against the Baltimore Ravens, audio of Toney was broadcast on Instagram Live suggesting that the Chiefs were lying about his injury status over the past six weeks, during which he’d been held out due to hip and ankle injuries.

Clips of Toney’s video were captured before disappearing from his Instagram page.

“I’m not hurt,” Toney says before a series of more profane explanations. “On God, not hurt, none of that. It go from hip to ankle to this to that. … What else? I’m in a body cast right now, at this point.” Toney then asks for someone to “go tell ’em what’s really going on.”

That was just part of Toney’s profanity-filled rant regarding reports around him and his injury status, calling the reporting around his status false and insulting those who reported he is out for Sunday’s game due to injury. He also implied that his injury designations continue changing due to their falsity.

Toney hasn’t played since a Week 15 game against the New England Patriots in which he deflected a pass to a defender for an interception for the second time this season. The Chiefs said before Sunday’s AFC Championship Game that Toney wouldn’t play because of injuries and personal reasons. Toney’s partner gave birth to the couple’s first child on Saturday.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid responded to the incident, saying the Chiefs did not file erroneous injury reports regarding Toney.

“He’s been on the injury report, [so] that part is not made up by any means,” Reid said. “He’s been working through some things. He’ll be back out there.”

Additionally, Chiefs TE Travis Kelce delivered a powerful message on the situation during his media availability on Friday.

“I want him to know it’s always love in this building,” Kelce said. “I know guys go through things both in this building and in their personal lives. He just had a baby girl, a beautiful baby girl. So shout out to Kadarius (Toney) for that one. But I think, you know, what’s real is what happens in this building and how we can channel that. I just wanted to make sure he knew that we’re all still behind him and ready to go get this Super Bowl.”

Recently, Toney has come forward and claimed that his rant on Instagram was altered. He posted the following message on his Instagram story:

“Ion like how that video made it seem like I was attacking the ones I love when the klips was altered to make it look like that. I would post the full klips where I addressed who I was speaking on but I’m passed that … I just hate the image it painted.”

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If it is true that the clips were altered, it could prompt an investigation by the NFL and the NFLPA. Regardless, it seems the damage has already been done, but he still seems to have the support of his teammates in the situation.

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