“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Neil Armstrong said these historic words on July 20, 1969, after becoming the first man to step on the surface of the moon. But according to Drake Maye, it might be ‘one giant lie’.
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Maye’s interaction on WEEI’s Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson turned into a controversial moment when the quarterback moved from the football field and lifted off to the moon missions, when the podcast hosts asked him about the conspiracy theories that he believed in. And Maye’s response came as a surprise.
“I don’t know about the moon, you know,” Maye said on the podcast. “I think I can see back in the day why we would put on the mask if we went there, but I’m not really sure 200% if we went there or not. I wouldn’t say I’m leaning one way or the other. I just know I’m a little bit skeptical.”
His response was centered around the Apollo 11 landing. Of course, he didn’t explicitly say that NASA faked the landings, as many believers do. Instead, he claimed that he was simply unconvinced. But little did he know that he’d get a response from NASA’s head, who came forth with proof of the landings.
“I quite literally have the receipts,” 15th NASA administrator Jared Isaacman wrote in a reply to Boston 25 News’ X post.
According to the history books, Apollo 11 carried Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins to the moon in 1969. The mission prompted Armstrong to become the first man to step on the moon, followed by Aldrin. Meanwhile, Collins stayed on the moon’s orbit. The mission lasted about eight days, and the astronauts returned to Earth on July 24, 1969.
Since then, the United States has completed 13 successful moon landings. And that includes seven uncrewed robotic missions. Right now, the organization is working to make the Artemis IV mission a success in 2028. Their aim is to establish a long-term human presence on and around the moon.
Nevertheless, Maye confirmed that his take may not be 100% correct.
“I’m not 100% sure, but I took a conspiracy theory class in college actually, at North Carolina, and it was pretty cool,” he said.
But Maye isn’t the only one who doubts that mankind has already landed on the moon.
Drake Maye isn’t alone in his moon landing stance
Former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy, who led the collegiate football team to the 2009 SEC Championship and the 2010 BCS National Championship, has stayed adamant in his belief that mankind hasn’t stepped on the moon.
“I think it was complete propagandist mentality,” said McElroy. “People have tried to dissuade me. People have tried to present counterarguments. I’m not changing my opinion that I don’t think we went to the moon. I think it was pure, genuine propaganda. And highly effective propaganda… Why haven’t we gone back? That’s piece of evidence number one. We haven’t gone back in over 50 years.”
Even Barstool’s founder, Dave Portnoy, turned in favor of Maye. Taking to X, he asked the fans to raise a hand if they personally saw people land on the moon.
Meanwhile, over at the Golf community, Bryson DeChambeau, on The Katie Miller Pod, questioned the authenticity of the visuals from Apollo 11. He put his trust in Elon Musk and claimed that while he believed that mankind made it to the moon, he didn’t believe that “the footage is real.”
Maye’s bizarre skepticism about the 1969 moon landing might make for great podcast banter. But the NASA administrator didn’t take long to shut the controversy down with literal receipts. For now, Maye needs to focus on the Week 5 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.