Omar The Basketball Referee Death Rumor, Alleging That He Succumbed To Cyberbulling, Is Likely Unfounded

This month, a TikTok video of a basketball referee catching a basketball went viral. In turn, many online could not stop saying, "You alright ladies?" It was then revealed that his name was Omar the Basketball Referee from Baltimore, Maryland, and for some reason, a death hoax has started circulating about him purportedly taking his own life.

The original video was posted in April by a TikToker named @farrish_gang, who filmed Omar the ref catching a ball before it went out of bounds.

Inherently, many found the video funny, mostly due to Omar's over-dramatization of the catch. Soon, everyone discovered Omar's name, as well as the fact that he was already a notable basketball ref in the Baltimore area, evident in previous viral videos about him.

@farrish_gang Yall know dis ref? #ref #aau #madehoops #fyp #athlete #basketbal #nba ♬ boy, what are you looking at – jabbar hakeem

@_lortinkyy my manz omar was acting weird😂 #baltimore #worstref #foryoupage #fypシ #trending #viral ♬ original sound – _lortinkyy

The virality of @farrish_gang's video ultimately inspired a budding meme trend a few months later in which creators made jokes about Omar, associating him with the imagined catchphrase "You alright ladies?" as well as the already famous "Bro thinks he's him."

@picklecheesebuns ref think he cold 🤦🙏👨‍🦼🛵 #coldmoments🥶🥶 #donpollo #paral##omeme #funnyvideo #🔥 #🤑 ♬ original sound – 🧌

@joehater1 Ref thinks hes the rizzler #CapCut #trending #xbyzca #tiktok #fyp #fypシ #abcxyz #meme #funny #basketball #nba #save #ref #hold #catch ♬ original sound – 🧌

Yesterday morning, an account that claimed to be Omar called @vory posted a photo slideshow showing a man who resembled Omar with a blurred-out face sleeping in a hospital bed, as well as an image of a tombstone with crudely added text that purported Omar had passed.

The slideshow rapidly gained over 600,000 plays in less than a day.

Many thought the account was real due to the fact that it had a verified "blue check." However, the account only started posting four days prior to the "R.I.P." slideshow's upload.

On top of this, the photos had a bottom watermark on them, linking to a separate account called @tyronejohnsonn, which seemingly deleted whatever original slideshow the photos came from. Overall, Omar's death announcement seemed sketchy to many.

Following @vory's slideshow, an account called @pooptlckies2022 posted a different photo slideshow that included multiple faked news headlines from BBC News, faking that the British media outlet reported on Omar's death.

As the death rumor cemented itself as an easy way to go viral, multiple TikTokers then posted videos that "honored Omar's memory." It's ultimately unconfirmed if Omar is still alive as there has been no statement from him otherwise, however, with all the context clues combined, the likelihood of Omar's death appears slim.

Plus, an account called @OmarWilson seems to be the most likely candidate for Omar's real account. As of today, it posted a video that stated Omar was still alive. Hopefully, the account is truly him and he has not passed away.

@omarwilson460 #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #omar #omartheref #viral #trending #blowthisup #viraltiktok ♬ original sound – ‍