A lighthearted confusion went viral after the National Football League (NFL), the American football league in the United States, mistakenly assumed American linebacker Arden Key Jr. was Moroccan because he displays the Moroccan flag emoji on his Instagram profile. The mix-up surfaced on November 18, when NFL Africa published a post celebrating Morocco's Independence Day and tagged Key as Moroccan. The post quickly circulated online, prompting amused reactions across social media. Happy Independence Day to all our family and friends from Morocco ?? ?: Joe Robbins/NFL pic.twitter.com/X7uFOjN8I1 — NFL Africa (@NFLAfrica) November 18, 2025 In reality, Key, who was born in Atlanta, Georgia, is not Moroccan. He is a member of the Moorish Science Temple of America, an African American spiritual movement whose followers identify as descendants of the Moors. For this reason, many adherents use the Moroccan flag as a cultural symbol, which appears to have sparked the misunderstanding.