Richard Martin said even as recently as Monday, March 1, he felt like there were still roadblocks in the way to get the bill passed. But now, all he feels is relief.

"In a move that shocked both the sports community and society, Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin directed his team not to participate in Pride Month activities, Tomlin said: 'We are here to play football not to participate in social or political movements and it has no place in our group activities,'" reads the post's caption.

Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, sponsor of the bill, said he is 'excited to capture the hearts and imagination of Utah as we work together to design a flag for the next generation.'

The Facebook page SpaceX Fanclub also shared a similar post on June 6, labeling it as satire and including a link to the Esspots article in the comments section.

The Steelers signed Tomlin to a three-year extension on June 10, keeping him under contract through the 2027 season, Reuters reported.

Before the bill passed, Jonathan Martin said he was not concerned about the affiliation with DezNat because it was such a small amount of people who appropriated the flag in Twitter memes and a Facebook post. Martin reached out to the DezNat Facebook page to take down the post and the page's moderators complied.

It's an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where posts created as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

Jonathan Martin never received a response to his request for a DezNat Instagram page to change its profile picture which is currently a variation of his central beehive symbol but with a white background and red star.

Communities across the U.S. celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month in June, but there are no credible news reports that Tomlin directed his team to not participate in Pride activities.

This year their efforts finally paid off on March 4 when the House voted 49-23 in favor of the bill, SB48. Shortly after, the bill passed concurrence.

The flag has symbols for the transcontinental railroad, Utah's motto 'Industry', the red rocks of Southern Utah, the snowy mountains, the Great Salt Lake, Utah's statehood and the Native Indigenous tribes.

The Daily Universe is an educational lab tied to the curriculum of the journalism sequence in the BYU School of Communications and is committed to the mission of BYU and its sponsoring institution, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The task force will undertake a potential redesigning of the Utah state flag and make Jonathan Martin's flag design from the Organization for a New Utah Flag the commemorative flag for Utah's 125th anniversary.

One such obstacle occurred a few days prior to the bill's passing when some representatives brought up concerns of the flag being affiliated with DezNat, an unofficial, controversial Twitter community.

USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.

Originally from Texas, Jonathan Martin is very proud to live in Utah now and thinks it is so special he got to contribute something that has a lasting history and legacy to Utah.

Richard Martin said this commemorative flag is the only thing the Utah Legislature is doing to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Utah's statehood. He said their design is timeless and will last for years to come.

The Utah House of Representatives passed a bill to create a Utah state flag task force and designate a flag commemorating the 125th anniversary of Utah's statehood in the final days of the legislative session.

Jonathan Martin said although he hopes his flag becomes the official state flag, he still supports the task force process. He said he is excited to see what happens next and 'this design could inspire something that is just as incredible.'

Martin and his father, Richard Martin, created the Organization for a New Utah Flag in 2017 and have been trying for three years in the Utah Legislature to replace the current Utah state flag with their design.

Compared to normal, 'boring' bills about taxes, government funds and legal adjustments, Richard Martin said having a fun and interesting bill like this is exciting. He enjoyed seeing the senators and representatives 'see something they love' and 'get behind it.'

In the days leading up to the final vote, Jonathan Martin said he was very worrisome and didn't sleep much at night. Even though he was pretty sure the bill would pass, he was worried about potential challenges that could pop up.

With the flag as the commemorative Utah flag, Jonathan Martin said he hopes eventually the flag could become the official state flag.

The caption in the Facebook post matches portions of a satirical article posted by Esspots on June 7, with only minor differences in phrasing. On its "About Us" page, Esspots describes itself as being "dedicated to bringing you the latest and greatest in fake news and absurdity, all with a healthy dose of humor and satire."

Jonathan Martin said his design has seven points of story and symbolism in it on significant aspects and features of Utah that sets it apart from other flags. Not only does the flag tell the history and heritage of Utah, 'the flag is a part of Utah history now,' he said.

Rep. Keven Stratton, R-Orem, told Jonathan Martin when this bill passed, it was one of the happiest moments in his career in regards to passing a bill.

According to Jonathan Martin, Gov. Spencer Cox really likes the commemorative flag design and especially the beehive stamp in the center of it. Martin also said Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, already has a flag hung in his office and Sen. Jacob Anderegg, R-Lehi, has one hanging in his doorway.

The June 10 Facebook post does not indicate the claim's satirical origin, however. And comments on the post indicated many users took it as real.

A June 10 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) includes a picture of Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin alongside a photo of people carrying rainbow flags in a parade.

Image

The claim originated as satire. There are no credible news reports that Tomlin directed his players to avoid Pride Month activities.

The group commonly uses the blue and white Deseret Nation flag instead for its community, so the connection was not enough to cause concern, allowing the bill to still pass through the House.