Men are larp-ing as NFL players to score dates and cash—one made $1.3 million before the FBI arrested him

All roads lead to larp—but contrary to older generations, that’s nothing new. That is, the idea behind it. From phrases like “fake it til you make it,” and real-life con artists like Anna “Delvey” Sorokin, larp-ing has been a facet of human society throughout history. Even Hollywood got in on it in the early 2000s, with Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance of Frank Abagnale Jr. in “Catch me if you can,”—portraying a picture-perfect snapshot of the larp-ing sensation. But in the age of social media and the internet, it’s only gotten more popular—and with that comes bigger stakes.

The NFL was meant to be a league of professional athletes, showcasing the peak of athleticism as America’s most-watched sporting event every year. But recent reports show how easily larping—originally meaning Live Action Roleplay, but has since morphed into a Gen Z slang regarding acting as someone you are not—can be used to repurpose its image for more sinister plans. Men who have allegedly never made an NFL roster used manipulation tactics to build relationships and even businesses through posing as football athletes, according to federal investigators—showing how the modern-day larp goes further than a light-hearted trend.

Federal prosecutors say Daejon Labrayae Love spent years presenting himself as an NFL player or wealthy real-estate investor, meeting women on dating apps and eventually steering them toward nonexistent investments. Love illustrates a modern form of “larp-ing,”—taking the idea of playing a character and applying it to real life, where the........

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