Here’s how the Detroit Lions and a few players reacted to the new jerseys leaking early.
If you missed it, a now-deleted promotional post at Lions Wire appears to have leaked the new Detroit Lions jerseys ahead of their launch on Thursday night . Obviously, this appears to have been an accidental leak, but at this point, the toothpaste can’t be put back into the tube, and they’re out there.
And while I’m sure the Lions would have preferred to keep these a secret until the release Thursday night—in front of a bunch of season-ticket holders—they were clearly prepared for a potential leak and had a couple of great reactions after the news dropped.
First, defensive tackle Alim McNeill filmed a quick video—while wearing the new uniform—expressing his disappointment over the leak he refers to leaking the “video,” so this appears to be something that was pre-recorded just in case.
You have disappointed @AlimMcneill . pic.twitter.com/bHF1YDC1NM
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) April 18, 2024
McNeill also responded on Twitter with a disappointed text emoji:
— Alim McNeill (@AlimMcneill) April 18, 2024
Detroit then jokingly accused quarterback Jared Goff of executing the leak, pulling a behind-the-scenes video of Goff seeing the uniforms for the first time—and perhaps inadvertently confirming the veracity of the black uniforms.
Inside job? @JaredGoff16 pic.twitter.com/vC2J8n58mO
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) April 18, 2024
Not everyone was as playful about the leak, though. Linebacker Alex Anzalone went to Twitter and was clearly frustrated by the early release, aiming his frustration at Fanatics, whose promotional post on Lions Wire was the original source of the leak.
Try to do something fun and exciting…
— Alex Anzalone (@AlexAnzalone34) April 18, 2024
Kerby Joseph was a little more playful in his reaction to the leak, jokingly blaming McNeill for the release:
Dam alim you leaked it how u made this video already? https://t.co/8yAFvFPxim
— ZUPER BOWL KERB (@JKERB25) April 18, 2024
He also appears to be in favor of the black uniforms—although he apparently is still skeptical if it’s a legit leak:
Dayum them black ones cold but this probably not even true fanatics is a third party they not even in the den fr https://t.co/oNRcqdAPxh
— ZUPER BOWL KERB (@JKERB25) April 18, 2024
At this point, the leak is what it is. It takes some of the fun out of Thursday’s event, but kudos to the Lions for both being prepared for a potential early release and having a playful attitude about it.