A stirring video has popped up online described as "Lone Survivor" Marcus Luttrell giving a pregame pep talk to football players from the University of Alabama, all about how the ex-Navy SEAL made it home alive, alone, under deadly enemy fire in Afghanistan.
But while the clip has been getting high marks for its inspirational punch, it looks like it isn't exactly authentic.
Former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell looks on from the sideline prior to the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Nov. 15, 2014 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
It's most definitely Luttrell telling his story — but his talk seems to be from another time and place. According to Sporting News, "Alabama's digital media licensing partner, XOS Digital, told Sporting News that video was actually from a different speaking engagement with a football team and simply had Alabama football clips layered over the top."
In the clip, Luttrell describes his lowest point, his body broken and his teammates dead, when he looked up to the sky and made a decision: "Get up. Let's go." But the video doesn't seem to stay on websites very long, apparently getting removed over copyright reasons.
Luttrell did indeed speak to Alabama players last Friday in the team auditorium before their big game Saturday against Mississippi State, and his words elicited a powerful reaction from players.
"I was sitting on the edge of my seat," tight end Brian Vogler told AL.com. "Any time you can talk to somebody like that, you're completely locked in to everything that's going on, every word that's coming out of his mouth. And honestly, once he got done talking, I wanted to run through a brick wall."
The Crimson Tide went on to hand Mississippi State its first loss of the season, 25-20.
The video's authenticity questions may also be why it keeps getting taken down; TheBlaze has witnessed at least four copies of the video removed or disabled.
It's unclear if the video was officially sanctioned by the university, which later realized its mistake, or if it was created by a third party who found an old clip of Luttrell and layered in other graphics and clips.
XOS Digital told TheBlaze on Friday that the statement it gave to Sporting News was based on information from the University of Alabama and had no other comment. TheBlaze reached out on Friday to University of Alabama Athletics for information about the video, but the messages weren't immediately returned. TheBlaze also contacted Luttrell's camp Friday for comment and will update the story once we hear back.
Here's the video in question. (Content warning — a bit of rough language):
This story has been updated.
