Following the Detroit Lions’ exciting 34-31 victory over the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on Thursday night, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur was still processing an incident that occurred before the game even began.
A Lions supporter who had been assigned with holding the pre-game flag abandoned his duties to approach the Packers’ bench and engage in a verbal dispute with LaFleur, resulting in a tense discussion that irritated the Packers coach.
“I’ve never been a part of something like that,” LaFleur said after the game, visibly irritated by the fan’s actions.
“He was talking junk to our players, giving them the throat slash sign, and you’re trying to de-escalate it and then he gets in my face.”
LaFleur, who has coached many games at various levels, was taken aback by the level of hostility. He described the incident as unsportsmanlike, noting that he had never encountered a fan directly confronting a coach in such a manner.
“I thought it was pretty unsportsmanlike, I’ve never seen that, I’ve been on many fields, and usually they police that much better,” LaFleur continued, referring to the security’s failure to intervene.
“I thought it was an arrogant fan that wanted to get a part of the action and just – I would like to see security, or something step in there and get them out of there, because it’s – he shouldn’t be doing that.”
DAN SKIPPER PRAISES LIONS FAN WHO TALKED TRASH TO MATT LAFLEUR
The fan’s actions seemed to get under LaFleur’s skin, but the Lions’ eventual victory left LaFleur with little room to further dwell on the situation. While the Packers head coach was clearly upset by the fan’s behavior, the real story of the game was the Lions’ gritty performance that helped them seal the win and continue their dominant season.
Despite LaFleur’s frustration, the fan’s antics may have just been part of the charged atmosphere at Ford Field, where the rivalry between the Lions and Packers was on full display. For LaFleur, though, this was an experience he’d rather not repeat, and he voiced his hope that such behavior would be handled more appropriately in the future.
