Claim:
In January 2026, following the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards donated a $514,000 game check to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
After federal agents shot and killed 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Jan. 24, 2026, a claim spread on social media that NBA all-star Anthony Edwards, who plays for the Minnesota Timberwolves, had donated a game check worth $514,000 to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The posts attributed the following quote to Edwards: "Joe Biden let in 20 million illegals. ICE is helping keep America safe and deserves full funding." At least one post featured the quote in a lower-third chyron that made it appear as though Fox News had reported the story.
Snopes readers wrote in asking us to verify the claim. However, it was false.
Searches of Google, Bing, Yahoo and DuckDuckGo found no record of Edwards making such a statement. Given extensive coverage from credible news outlets of other athletes' and coaches' comments on Pretti's death, any public comment from Edwards would likely have been widely reported.
Furthermore, Edwards had not posted such an announcement on his social media accounts.
We reached out to the Minnesota Timberwolves organization for comment on the rumor, but had not heard back at the time of publication.
The claim originated with a Jan. 27, 2026, post on X from the user @dsonoiki, whose account appears to belong to Damilare Sonoiki, a former staff writer on the sitcom "Black-ish" and "The Simpsons," according to IMDb.
The Timberwolves were scheduled to play the Golden State Warriors at home on the day Pretti was shot. The NBA postponed the game to the following day at the Timberwolves' request, according to The Athletic. The Timberwolves lost, 85-111.
According to a separate article from The Athletic recapping the postponed game, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr "approached one Wolves veteran and said he was sorry the game was even being played" sometime during the third quarter.
"Honestly, what I felt is their group was suffering," Kerr said.
After the postponed game, Timberwolves reporter Andrew Dukowitz asked Edwards in the locker room if he had a message for the community (archived). Dane Moore, a Timberwolves podcaster, also filmed the interaction.
In response, Edwards said:
Man, I just love Minnesota, all the love and support that they show me. So I'm behind whatever they with. I don't really have social media, so I'm not in tune with everything. But I've heard about the stuff that's going on. Me and my family definitely praying for everybody.
Sources
Avila, Alejandro. "Anthony Edwards Faces Criticism For Neutral Stance After Minnesota Shooting." OutKick, 26 Jan. 2026, https://www.outkick.com/sports/anthony-edwards-minnesota-shooting-statement-deemed-not-good-enough-fans.
"Breanna Stewart Protests Minneapolis Shooting with Sign." ESPN.Com, 25 Jan. 2026, https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/\_/id/47727308/breanna-stewart-protests-minneapolis-shooting-sign.
Krawczynski, Jon. "Right Now, 'Nothing Feels Right' in Minneapolis. An NBA Basketball Game Is No Exception." The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6997890/2026/01/26/minnesota-ice-federal-agents-protestors-nba-game/.
———. "Timberwolves-Warriors Game Postponed after Fatal Shooting in Minneapolis." The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2026. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6996105/2026/01/24/timberwolves-warriors-game-postponed-shooting-minnesota/.
Krawczynski, Jon, and Nick Friedell. "Chris Finch, Steve Kerr, Steph Curry Address Unrest in Minnesota in Wake of Shooting." The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6997878/2026/01/25/chris-finch-steve-kerr-unrest-minnesota/.
PerryCook, Taija. "25 Claims about Minnesota's Immigration Crackdown, Investigated." Snopes, 28 Jan. 2026, https://www.snopes.com//collections/minneapolis-ice-surge-rumors/.
read, Chris CwikContributing writer·6 min. "Steve Kerr, Breanna Stewart, Tyrese Haliburton, NBPA, Minnesota Sports Teams Speak out after ICE Fatal Shooting of Nurse Alex Pretti." Yahoo Sports, 26 Jan. 2026, https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/steve-kerr-breanna-stewart-tyrese-haliburton-nbpa-minnesota-sports-teams-speak-out-after-ice-fatal-shooting-of-nurse-alex-pretti-211239298.html.
"Warriors-Timberwolves Game Postponed." NBA, https://www.nba.com/news/warriors-timberwolves-game-postponed. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.