WRAL: “Asked by a reporter to name his three favorite Hurricanes players, he responded: ‘You know, I think we like them all.’”
N&O: “If you don’t understand the scandal, you’re not from around here.”
As North Carolina cheers on the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals, an “exasperated” DC insider Michael Whatley was “skewered by NC fans” over inventing a nonexistent player in an AI graphic and failing to name a single player after being asked three times:
Reporter: “Who are your three favorite Hurricanes players?”
Michael Whatley: “You know, I think we like them all.”
Reporter: “Don’t have a favorite player?”
Michael Whatley: “Look, I think that that’s a team that’s loaded, they’re playing offense really well.”
Reporter: “Last chance: Can you name one Hurricanes player?”
Michael Whatley: “Thanks, guys, appreciate it very much.”
As he faces “raging Caniac” Roy Cooper in the U.S. Senate race, Whatley’s fake fandom is raising questions about his “authenticity and relatability.”
Read and Watch More:
The Assembly: Can Michael Whatley Name a Hurricanes Player?
Bryan Anderson | June 3, 2026
- Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley is hopping on the Carolina Hurricanes bandwagon as the team aims for its first Stanley Cup in two decades.
- When I asked who his three favorite players are, Whatley replied, “You know, I think we like them all.”
- “Don’t have a favorite player?” I followed up.
- “Look, I think that that’s a team that’s loaded,” he continued. “They’re playing offense really well.”
- I gave him one final opportunity to demonstrate his fandom as he wrapped up his 8-minute gaggle with reporters: “Last chance: Can you name one Hurricanes player?”
- An exasperated Whatley gave a thumbs up and walked away. “Thanks, guys, appreciate it very much.”
- Reporter: “Experts say the AI element of Whatley’s post draws attention to his credibility.”
- David McLennan: “[…] The fact that there were questions raised about the AI produced image. You know, now brings more scrutiny to Whatley.”
- Reporter: “The post has state democrats calling Whatley a fake fan. So we asked him about the team.”
- Reporter: “Who are your three favorite players?”
- Michael Whatley: “You know, I think we like them all.”
Jack Hagel, Megan Cloherty | June 3, 2026
- Democrats and some Carolina Hurricanes fans are criticizing Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley for a social media message cheering on Raleigh’s NHL team. They’re accusing him of being a fair-weather fan and using artificial intelligence to create images of a fake player.
- The problem: Fans had a difficult time identifying the player.
- “Nothing says a true fan like an AI-generated fake player,” wrote another.
- Whatley, 57, isn’t the first U.S. Senate candidate to face scrutiny for a social media post about one of North Carolina’s cultural cornerstones.
N&O: Canes fans confused by AI player photo posted by NC Senate candidate Michael Whatley
Danielle Battaglia | June 3, 2026
- Some Hurricanes fans did think it was a big deal, with one user saying the post “Cost us game 1.”
- North Carolina voters take their state’s culture very seriously, and a small slip-up like this can draw a lot of unwanted attention.
- If you don’t understand the scandal, you’re not from around here.
N&O: [Opinion]: Michael Whatley’s Hurricanes blunder hurts a campaign with little room for error
Paige Masten | June 4, 2026
- Eventually, he walked away. But two minutes later, after some intervention from North Carolina Republican Party spokesman Matt Mercer, Whatley came back with a name: Jaccob Slavin. (Just don’t ask him to spell it.)
- But there is something to be said about authenticity and relatability, and from an image perspective, that’s why this matters.
- Demetri Ravanos: “[Whatley] doesn’t give a sh*t about Raleigh. He clearly doesn’t give a sh*t about Western North Carolina. Where is the appeal for this guy?”
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