Sam Hinkie used a fake Abe Lincoln quote in his resignation letter
Get breaking news and SI’s biggest stories instantly. Download the new Sports Illustrated app (iOS or Android) and personalize your experience by following your favorite teams and SI writers.
Former 76ers president and general manager Sam Hinkie resigned from his post on Wednesday with a 13-page resignation letter. In it, he talked about the old Blackberry keyboard, shouted out New Zealand’s flightless bird, the moa, and used an Abe Lincoln quote.
There’s one issue—as it turns out, that Abe Lincoln quote is fake!
Here’s what Hinkie attributed to Lincoln:
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
However, according to the website Quote Investigator, Lincoln never actually said that:
There is no substantive evidence that Abraham Lincoln who died in 1865 made a remark of this type. The earliest instance located by [Quote Investigator] matching this general template appeared in 1956 in a volume about agricultural education. However, the words were ascribed to an anonymous woodsman and not to Lincoln. In addition, the cutting task was measured in minutes and not hours. […] The first ascription to Lincoln found by [Quote Investigator] was printed in 1960.
“Put your faith in the plan” – Sam Hinkie
– Kenny Ducey
