Let's take a moment to reflect. On May 16, a Sirius XM radio producer named Josh Rimer tweeted that Lil Jon and Jerry Bruckheimer might be included in a group with interest in keeping the Atlanta Thrashers home. He later confirmed that Anson Carter was involved in the group, but denied the involvement of Lil Jon and Bruckheimer, along with Usher and Tom Glavine, just for good measure.
Unfortunately, few people saw that second tweet.
WXIA in Atlanta mentioned the rumor at the end of a report, while following up with Lil Jon's management and noting Rimer's second tweet. The Atlanta Business Chronicle then reported the existence of the rumor, while appropriately calling it a bizarre and outlandish rumor, though unfortunately did not link to the original source, which would have steered readers towards its immediate retraction. Twitter got ahold of that ABC report, and off it went.
Wednesday 790 The Zone, one of Atlanta's AM radio stations, has been mentioning the rumor frequently, though mainly using it as a source of humor. While calling it only a rumor, of course. Still, it's very helpful to take a look at where the rumor actually started. It was a rumor started by a radio host based in Toronto; how many radio hosts based in Toronto are up on the latest Lil Jon news? Personally, I wouldn't believe the rumor even without the retraction.
Both Lil Jon and Bruckheimer are hockey fans -- the rapper has been spotted at many Thrashers games, and Bruckheimer has been trying to get a NHL team in Las Vegas. It's feasible that one or both could be interested, but there's simply nothing to it at this point.
Also, while we're at it, the Atlanta Hawks aren't leaving town. They're financially tied to Philips Arena for the next 15 years.
For more Thrashers, join Bird Watchers Anonymous. For more hockey, visit SB Nation's NHL hub.