--- title: This Basketball-Themed Promposal Has the Internet Confused description: One Texas teen put together a nice sign to ask his date to prom—but the internet can't stop trying to figure out what, exactly, it says. canonical: https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-14T16:06:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:42:50.408Z og:title: This Basketball-Themed Promposal Has the Internet Confused og:description: The teen's creative sign has the internet scratching its head. og:url: https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Basketball-Themed Promposal Has the Internet Confused twitter:description: The teen's creative sign has the internet scratching its head. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # The Internet Can't Decide What This Guy's Mind-Boggling Promposal Sign Is Saying > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f780bb98-a537-45a5-9285-a2beb86dde63&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f780bb98-a537-45a5-9285-a2beb86dde63&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=f780bb98-a537-45a5-9285-a2beb86dde63&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f780bb98-a537-45a5-9285-a2beb86dde63&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Apr 14, 2017 4:06 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Apr 14, 2017 4:06 PM UTC Viral promposals are all the rage this season. Usually, they’re pretty self-explanatory to wider audiences—like this [extensive _La La Land_ reenactment](http://time.com/4727690/emma-stone-prom-la-la-land/), or a Disney-perfect [_Beauty and the Beast_ approach](http://time.com/4713839/beauty-and-the-beast-prom-proposal-2/). But one simple-seeming prom proposal, as shared by Twitter user and [Texas high schooler](http://cw33.com/2017/04/13/a-texan-teen-promposes-with-a-poster-thats-hard-to-understand-but-still-gets-a-yes/) Marlen Williams earlier this week, has taken on a life of its own. That’s because of a certain level of confusion surrounding just exactly what Williams was trying to say to his date, spelled out in colorful letters on his signboard. Turns out, his creation wasn’t quite a slam dunk in the eyes of Twitter. > [](https://twitter.com/%5Flord%5Fdarkskin%5F/status/851278451709419520) > [](https://twitter.com/Mmarissaluna/status/851307448421949440) It’s telling that the request for explanation comes with more than 3,000 likes—half as many as the sweet original post itself. Luckily, others are stepping in to help untangle the sign’s verbiage and come up with a satisfactory translation. The important point to know is that it appears both Williams and his date play basketball, and the sign is a reference to positions on court. > [](https://twitter.com/worl%5Ftim/status/851829653643948033) > [](https://twitter.com/OneLeggedFade41/status/852318956077580288) > [](https://twitter.com/Riley%5FMartin3/status/851847051721805827) > [](https://twitter.com/Bougieafrican/status/851688992085078016) > [](https://twitter.com/macdaddy906/status/851669703122669568) > [](https://twitter.com/chiami%5Fann/status/851692992410857473) > [](https://twitter.com/Thatonetruukidd/status/851783847561789440) Although many were befuddled by the unusual alignment of his sentences on the sign, it looks like Williams got the girl—which is really the only person he needed to understand it, anyway. Besides, when it comes to finding it difficult to fit everything onto one poster, he’s certainly not alone. > [](https://twitter.com/Iuvisrage2/status/851817068332711939) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/"},"headline":"The Internet Can't Decide What This Guy's Mind-Boggling Promposal Sign Is Saying","datePublished":"2017-04-14T16:06:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:42:50.408Z","description":"The teen's creative sign has the internet scratching its head.","url":"https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Bizarre"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4740135/basketball-promposal-twitter/","name":"The Internet Can't Decide What This Guy's Mind-Boggling Promposal Sign Is Saying"}}]}] ```