Eric Woodard, ESPN
Detroit– Lions Club The team has revoked the season tickets of a fan who got into an altercation with him before a game, the team confirmed to ESPN. packers Matt LaFleur coached at Ford Field last week.
Television cameras captured a heated exchange between LaFleur and Lions fan Fahad Yousef of Farmington Hills, Mich., who was holding a giant ball last Thursday night. A member of the crowd while the flag plays the national anthem.
LaFleur can be seen yelling at fans but said his actions were provoked.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” LaFleur said after the team’s 31-34 loss to the Lions on Sunday. “He talked trash to our players and gave them the cut-throat sign. You try to deescalate the situation and then he gets in my face. I thought it was unsportsmanlike.”
“I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve been to a lot of stadiums and usually they have much better security. I thought it was an arrogant fan wanting to get involved. I would have liked to see security, or something, step in and let He got out of there because he wasn’t supposed to, yeah.”
Yusef confirms team’s decision detroit news He said he was “shocked” by the move after being contacted by email.
“Man, this is the hardest hit,” Yusef told The Detroit News on Thursday. “It felt terrible to wake up and see that email and not be able to talk to someone in person. I didn’t have a chance to say my side or anything.”
The Lions are off to the best start in franchise history with a 12-1 record and an 11-game winning streak. They return to host Ford Field on Sunday bill (10-3) in a matchup of Super Bowl contenders. Yusef, a lifelong Lions fan, said the team’s success “makes it hurt even more.”
“This has been my identity my whole life and it was just taken away from me because of one small incident. It’s definitely something I could have avoided,” Yusef told The Detroit News.
“I will let [the Lions] I know I’m sorry for embarrassing this team. Like, that was really not my intention. I will apologize to anyone and do whatever I can to get back into the stadium and support my team. “
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky contributed to this report.
