Matthew Whitaker, the acting U.S. Attorney General, has incorrectly claimed on his résumé and in government documents to have been named an Academic All-American while playing football at the University of Iowa, according to the documents and the organization that awards that honor.
Mr. Whitaker, who was a tight end on the Iowa team from 1990 to 1992, claimed to have been an Academic All-American in his biography on his former law firm’s website and on a résumé sent in 2014 to the chief executive of a now-closed patent-marketing firm, for which he sat on the advisory board. The résumé was included in documents released last month by the Federal Trade Commission.
Mr. Whitaker made the same claim in a 2010 application for an Iowa judgeship. A Justice Department press release, issued in 2009 when Mr. Whitaker left his post as U.S. Attorney in Iowa, said he had been “an academic All-American football player.”
To be considered for Academic All-American, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.3 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or important reserve on his or her team.
Mr. Whitaker’s name doesn’t appear in the list of Academic All-Americans on the website of the organization that bestows the annual honor, the College Sports Information Directors of America. Another University of Iowa football player is on that list for 1992, the year that Mr. Whitaker has said he received the honor.
Barb Kowal, a spokeswoman for the awarding organization, also known as CoSIDA, said the group has no record that Mr. Whitaker was ever an Academic All-American.
