The son of Hall of Famer Randy Moss has denied a purported ‘update’ on his father’s health by Larry Fitzgerald Sr., calling a claim that the Vikings icon has liver cancer ‘disgusting.’
Fitzgerald Sr., the father of former Cardinals star Larry Jr., appeared to break news on Tuesday when he said that Moss – who recently announced a ‘personal health challenge’ without providing further details – was battling cancer.
That apparent reveal of private information was slammed by fans, and Thaddeus Moss quickly took to social media to give Fitzgerald Sr. a piece of his mind and clear the air.
‘This is disgusting,’ he wrote on X. ‘You have no right to try to make private matters public for the sake of engagement. I do not believe my father talks to you , so check your f*****g sources.’
Thaddeus replied to several more accounts saying the rumor about his father was not true. That included former Packers quarterback Brett Favre, who offered prayers to Moss and his family and shared the erroneous cancer claims.
‘Brett, the support is appreciated, truly,’ Thaddeus said. ‘This is not true. My father will address the world when he is ready to.’
ESPN recently announced that Randy Moss was stepping back to focus on a ‘health challenge’
Moss wore sunglasses on his final Sunday NFL Countdown due to an ‘internal’ health issue
Thaddeus Moss, seen at Bengals training camp in 2021, denied that his father had liver cancer
Last week, ESPN announced that Moss, a regular on the network’s Sunday NFL Countdown program, was stepping back to focus on his health.
He wore sunglasses on his final Sunday NFL Countdown appearance and admitted only that he was ‘battling something internally’.
On Tuesday night, however, Larry Fitzgerald Sr. claimed on social media that Moss is battling liver cancer.
‘Just heard that Vikings HOF Randy Moss has liver cancer. Let’s show the power of prayer and pull Moss through this. I love you Randy,’ he wrote on X.
Fitzgerald Sr. claims to be ‘a giant of Twin Cities sports media’ who works as a ‘writer, producer, talk show host and commentator’.
His website bio says he has been the sports editor and columnist with the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder ‘one of the Midwest’s strongest and oldest African American news journals,’ for 35 years.
But, with no official confirmation, Fitzgerald Sr.’s post caused a storm on Tuesday night, with many NFL fans pointing out that Moss had kept details of his health battle private.
‘This wasn’t your story to tell man,’ one wrote. ‘You should be ashamed of yourself for posting this. Too put another man’s private business out there on social media like this,’ another said.
‘It’s obvious he’s done everything to not let the actual illness be released but you decided you needed to release that info?’ asked a third.
‘Jesus dude. He specifically avoided saying what he was going through last Sunday when he was wearing shades. But you think it’s ok for you to share?’ another fan said.
DailyMail.com has reached out to both Fitzgerald Sr. and Thaddeus for comment.
Last week, fans were concerned for Moss as they saw his eyes appearing yellow on TV
Moss was a boyhood mentor to Fitzgerald Jr., a receiver who spent 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.
‘He taught me this game. I grew up immortalizing him, watching him, trying to emulate what he was doing every single day,’ Fitzgerald said of Moss in 2017.
‘And I remember him supporting me in high school, coming to my practices, and giving me cleats and gloves, letting me use his car for prom, taking care of me after I washed his cars, letting me come to the house and play basketball.’
Thaddeus, 26, played college football at North Carolina State and LSU as a tight end before going undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.
He spent time with Washington and Cincinnati in the NFL but never appeared in a game, before playing in both the UFL and CFL.
He announced his retirement from football in May.