Who is Omar the Ref and Why Were Rumors About His Death Circulating?

The Gist:

• After a TikTok video depicting a youth basketball ref named Omar went viral, a rumor started that he had died.
• Thankfully, Omar the Ref is alive and well, and actively posts on social media.
• The death hoax surrounding Omar is not the first about a viral TikTok personality to pop up.

After a video went viral on TikTok, a man named Omar who was refereeing a youth basketball game became a viral phenomenon. The phenomenon of Omar the Ref began thanks to a video of him catching a ball that was headed into the stands. The video went viral and the rest is history. In the video, Omar seems to give those in the stands a look after catching the ball as if he had saved their lives.

The original video has now been viewed millions of times, and has become a meme across the internet. Following the video's virality, though, another rumor has spread about Omar that has left some concerned about him. What happened to Omar the Ref? Here's an update!

Rumors began circulating online that Omar had died. The rumor suggested that he had died by suicide after facing cyberbullying in the wake of his sudden rise to prominence. The rumor was spread by several accounts on TikTok, including one that was verified and another that claimed to be BBC News. Naturally, many people wondered whether the rumors about Omar were true.

The short answer is, no, Omar the Ref is not dead. And the accounts that posted about his death aren't credible. One of the accounts had only existed for a few days prior to posting and the other isn't really BBC News. In all likelihood, the accounts probably decided to start a false rumor that Omar had died in order to boost their own accounts.

On the contrary, Omar the Ref is alive and well! He posts regularly to his TikTok account, with much of his content centering around sports. In fact, in January 2024, Omar the Ref had quite the exciting experience in Chicago while visiting the DJ-Khaled-owned restaurant, The Licking.

A video posted to his TikTok revealed he got trapped in the bathroom after the lock got stuck. The police were called to the scene after they were told a man didn’t want to leave the restaurant. While the stories seemed to have gotten mixed up, Omar the Ref’s review of the restaurant is quite clear — he wasn’t impressed!

Death hoaxes have unfortunately become increasingly common on the internet, in part because they are such a good way for accounts to increase their clout. While it's obviously true that famous people do die in random and sometimes tragic ways, it's important to wait for information to be independently verified before you start posting about it yourself. Otherwise, you might start spreading information that isn't true.

Even if he never meant to, Omar the Ref has brought lots of people plenty of joy thanks to the memes that have been created from his video. He may not have intended to become an online phenomenon, but for now, those who have enjoyed his videos and memes can rest easy knowing that nothing bad has happened to Omar and he can continue to save people from rogue balls.