Sports
‘I can’t believe it came to this’: His Lions fandom is his identity. He almost lost it
NORTHVILLE, Mich. — Fahad Yousif is two days removed from receiving something called a Certificate of Completion from the National Football League. It is dated Dec. 12. It is signed by Ari Novick, Ph.D., a licensed psychotherapist with a private practice in Laguna Beach, Calif. It is numbered “Cert #216932,” meaning 216,931 others presumably have received such an honor. It cost $250 — the fee Yousif paid for a four-hour course covering about eight or nine chapters of fan behavior expectations in NFL stadiums.
He holds up his phone to show me.
“I can’t believe it came to this,” he says.
This is what happens when it all goes too far. Yousif is the Detroit Lions fan who decided to chirp at the Green Bay Packers sideline during pregame festivities at Ford Field last weekend. Some choice words (no swearing, he makes clear) were followed by drawing his thumb across his neck, making a slashing motion. That, it turns out, was a terrible, terrible idea. Because to some, notably Packers coach Matt LaFleur, what started as some mouthy fan talking trash had crossed over to a raving madman making a threat. LaFleur fired back at Yousif. Yousif, smiling wildly, yelled back at LaFleur. Security got involved.
Yousif was on the field as a perk of his ticket package. Allowed to choose one add-on bonus for the 2024 season, he opted to be one of those fans who pull a giant American flag taut across the field during the pregame national anthem. Instead, security escorted him off the field before the anthem ever began.
The dust-up went viral. Yousif, after returning to his seat, was ejected from Ford Field before halftime. Then LaFleur spoke about the incident in the postgame news conference, saying Detroit’s pregame activities should’ve been policed better. On Wednesday, the Lions revoked Yousif’s season tickets. Then he was banned from attending NFL games. Every day brought new waves of coworkers and old friends texting, “Did I see you on TV?” and media requests. Yousif took each opportunity to acknowledge he was in the wrong and apologize. Everyone, including Yousif, more or less agreed that he went too far out there.
Near the end of the week, the Lions and the league offered a path forward. The stadium ban would be lifted, Yousif was told, if he completed the code of conduct class and wrote a formal apology.
Now, here we are. It’s Saturday afternoon, nearly a week removed from the incident, and nearly 24 hours until the Lions host the Buffalo Bills in the NFL’s marquee game this weekend. Yousif accepted an invitation to meet at a Starbucks in Metro Detroit.
Maybe this could be about life in the blast radius of a viral moment.
Or it could be about nearly missing out on what might end up as the greatest season in Lions history.
Or about contrition.
Or second chances.
But then Yousif is asked about what he nearly lost.
“Oh, man, everything,” he says. “This is who I am, and, you know, I almost lost that. I don’t dismiss any of the criticism I’ve gotten. None of it. I agree with most of it.
“I was blessed with an honor to hold the flag of a country I love. I crossed the line and it shouldn’t have happened. I get where people are coming from. I can’t believe this happened.”
Yousif is a lot of things. He’s a product of Metro Detroit’s vast Chaldean community — a first-generation American born to a father from Iraq and a mother from Kuwait. He’s an older sibling to two brothers. He’s a Wayne State University graduate. He’s a sales associate for a Midwest automotive tools company. He’s a husband to wife Gabby.
What he most identifies as, though, is as a Lions fan.
Yousif grew up speaking only Arabic at home. He tried everything to fit in at school and came to feel most comfortable talking about football. He says that, growing up attending Farmington Hills public schools, he’d introduce himself by saying, “Hi, I’m Fahad. I’m a big Lions fan.”
Yousif ignored pleas from his father, Saad, to play soccer. He instead lined up at defensive end and linebacker through middle school and into high school. He scored tickets to his first game at Ford Field in 2013. He and an older cousin began attending four or five games a year.
“It was so natural,” Yousif says. “It was like, this is where we’re from, this is who we root for. Root for the Lions, no matter what.”
Yousif grew to learn and understand the game more and more, but, like so many others, fell into the same trap that’s befallen generations of Lions fans. He believed.
“Oh, the Matt Patricia era, bro,” he says now, fighting through a laugh, “I totally bought the hype.”
But like all those generations of Lions fans, something came from that belief. Shared experience. Yousif convinced his father to start rooting for the Lions. He sold the dream. “This is the year.” Soon, Yousif stopped attending games, choosing instead to watch them at his dad’s house. Two chairs. Big-screen TV. Standing appointment.
“Every year, he got more and more into it,” Yousif says. “He finally got it, and it kinda changed our whole relationship. Those years weren’t very good for the Lions, but, you know, they were good for us.”
The Dan Campbell era in Detroit began in 2021 with the franchise trading star quarterback Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff. Yousif called his father the minute the news broke. It was mid-March. Saad, at 65, was newly retired and ready to get aboard his next ride as a Lions fan.
Six weeks later, Yousif got word that his father was feeling sick. He entered the hospital. He was placed on a ventilator.
“It was so quick,“ Yousif says. “Within 10 days, he was dead.”
Yousif hasn’t mentioned any of this through his numerous media appearances this week. Viral moments don’t afford time. That, and his story doesn’t excuse what happened last week.
“It still shouldn’t have happened,” he says. “I was also a big pro wrestling fan growing up and I think I’ve got some of that in my personality. I root for the heel.”
That personality, you can be certain, is big. Yousif is the loudest person in the coffee shop by a wide margin. He speaks like he’s drinking jet fuel. One customer has closed his laptop and moved to a far table. But Yousif can’t really seem to help it. He seems to only operate with excitement and emotion and in equal proportions.
Until he talks about these last few Lions seasons. After his father’s death, Yousif wasn’t sure he could watch the Lions anymore. Every game was tied to loss, no matter the outcome. Saying this, he gets caught, and pauses, jaw clenched, cheeks trembling.
The 2021 season came and went. He watched games in 2022 at home with an empty seat for his dad. Before 2023, he decided to make the big move. Season tickets. Lower bowl. Section 141, 33 rows up.
He watched his team go 12-5 and win the NFC North last season.
“I know it sounds crazy — really, I do — but it’s felt like Dad being like, yo, it’s OK, I got you,” he says. “I’ve been telling people these last few years that he’s got his hands all over this. I found a lot of comfort in that. I think he heard me say I didn’t want to watch the Lions anymore. He wanted to make it easier.”
Now Yousif is rooting for football’s unlikeliest juggernaut. The Lions are 12-1 and current favorites to do it — something so unthinkable that we won’t even say it.
Neither he nor anyone else can quite wrap their heads around what is all playing out. Yousif says he admits his mistake, and accepts the punishment, but also believes LaFleur overreacted and perhaps this all never needed to escalate so much. He’s hoping for another Lions-Packers matchup in the playoffs.
He plans to be there for it. Just as he plans to be in the stands for Lions-Bills. A massive group of longtime season ticket holders who operate a tailgate out of Eastern Market invited him to Sunday’s tailgate. There might be an available ticket for him.
While his season tickets are gone, apparently forever, Yousif can still go see his team.
So he’ll go be a fan.
He doesn’t know how to be anything else.
(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; photos: Nic Antaya / Getty Images; Courtesy of Fahed Yousif)
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New details have emerged surrounding the arrest of former Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch, who is facing two misdemeanor charges following a run-in with law enforcement just days ahead of the NFL Draft.
Branch, who is a projected second-round pick, was arrested early Sunday morning in Athens, Georgia, and charged with two counts of obstructing public sidewalks/streets – prowling and obstruction of a law enforcement officer.
Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Zachariah Branch celebrates after a touchdown catch against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Nov. 28, 2025. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
He was released after more than two hours in jail after posting $39 in bonds.
The NFL Network obtained the police report from Branch’s arrest, which described an encounter over an alleged sidewalk incident with law enforcement, in which police alleged that the former Bulldogs star failed “to comply with multiple verbal lawful commands.”
“A male, later identified as Zacharia Branch, continued to stand on the sidewalk without making an attempt to move. I continued to give Zacharia Branch verbal commands to move from blocking the sidewalk and advised that if he did not, he would receive a citation for blocking the sidewalk,” the excerpt from the report read.
Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch runs during the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 28, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
TOP NFL DRAFT PICK ZACHARIAH BRANCH ARRESTED IN GEORGIA ON TWO MISDEMEANOR CHARGES
“Zacharia Branch smirked, then stepped backwards and to the right, then remained standing upon the public sidewalk, so as to obstruct, hinder, and impede free passage upon the sidewalk as well as impede free ingress/egress to or from the adjacent places of business,” the report continued.
“Due to those actions and Zacharia Branch’s failure to comply with multiple verbal lawful commands, he was placed under arrest for misdemeanor Obstruction of LEO and received a citation for Obstructing Public Sidewalks.”
Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch celebrates with wide receiver Colbie Young after scoring a touchdown against Ole Miss during the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Jan. 1, 2026. (IMAGN)
Branch transferred after two seasons at Southern California and immediately became quarterback Gunner Stockton’s favorite target. He finished the season with a team-high 811 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.
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His status as a projected second-round pick was bolstered after an impressive showing at the combine, where he clocked a 4.35-second 40-yard dash.
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For two-thirds of Sunday’s Long Beach Grand Prix, Alex Palou bided his time … waiting for the one break he needed.
It came in the form of a caution on the 58th lap, allowing him to overtake front-runner Felix Rosenqvist exiting pit lane and hold the lead the rest of the way, taking the checkered flag by 3.96 seconds for his third triumph in five IndyCar Series races this season and his first at Long Beach.
Right after being showered with applause and confetti at victory lane, the 29-year-old Spaniard thanked his crew, whose quick work on the last pit stop proved to be the difference.
“Everyone was coming in on that yellow and they did an incredible job,” he said. “We were either going to win it or not win right there.”
Rosenqvist settled for second and Scott Dixon, Palou’s Chip Ganassi Racing teammate, was third.
It was the 11th win over the last 22 races dating to 2024 for the Barcelona native and the 22nd win of his career, tying Tony Bettenhausen and Emerson Fittipaldi. It also vaulted Palou to the top of the series standings as he chases his fourth series championship in a row and fifth overall. Palou won the opener March 1 in St. Petersburg (also a street course) and the fourth race March 29 in Alabama.
Palou led for only 32 of the 90 laps Sunday and acknowledged it would have been difficult to catch Rosenqvist if not for the stoppage.
“I wasn’t giving up but it would’ve been tough to get him today,” Palou acknowledged. “He was already three seconds ahead. I was happy with my car but I was struggling more on the soft tires than the hards so I’d say my chances were low. The feeling was great seeing all the open space coming out of pit lane because when you spend 60 laps behind a car it disturbs you. I tried to match him on soft tires but it wasn’t working.”
Alex Palou speeds through a curve of the track.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
In six starts at Long Beach, Palou never has finished lower than fifth.
There is little room to maneuver on the 1.968-mile course with 11 tight turns, but after starting in the third position next to defending champion Kyle Kirkwood, Palou managed to sneak past Pato O’Ward into second place heading into the first turn on Lap 2.
“Making that move on the straightaway was big because I knew it was one of our only chances to get a pass on Pato,” Palou said. “I got that good run on that last corner and he didn’t expect it.”
This year marked the 51st edition of the longest-running major street race in North America, which started in 1975 as part of the Formula 5000 Series, switched to the CART/Champ Car World Series in 1984 and joined the IndyCar Series in 2009.
The top four qualifiers started on softer, high-grip “alternate” tires to establish position while the rest of the grid started on harder, more durable “primaries” to manage degradation on the 110-degree track surface. Of the 25 starters, 24 completed the 177.12 miles.
“We were going to make the two-stop strategy work but didn’t know if it would be doable or not,” Palou added. “As soon as I saw I couldn’t get Felix it was all about patience, fuel and waiting for the right time. I owe this win to my team. Without that pit stop I probably wouldn’t be sitting here now. It only takes one mistake to go from second to seventh, but they’re great under pressure.”
Cars make their way down a straightaway during Long Beach Grand Prix.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
Past winners Will Power and Josef Newgarden moved into the top two positions after Rosenqvist pitted, but the Swede regained the lead when Newgarden pitted for the first time on Lap 37 and dropped back to 14th.
The first 45 laps were caution-free as Rosenqvist, Palou, Kirkwood, David Malukas and O’Ward held the top five spots. Newgarden’s chances declined upon discovering a flat spot on his left front tire, and he dropped back to 14th.
Rosenqvist’s three-second lead was erased when debris on the track exiting the Aquarium Fountain drew the only yellow flag all afternoon and narrowed the gap. Capitalizing on favorable pit position, Palou emerged from the lane just ahead of Rosenqvist.
Rosenqvist. who won the pole position with a lap time of 1 minute 7.4625 seconds in qualifying, had mixed emotions as the runner-up after leading for 51 laps with no win to show for it.
“You want to win when you have an opportunity, but I’m proud of today,” Rosenqvist said.
“We weren’t as good as Alex on the blacks … the last pit cycle was the defining moment. We had to come around 14, he had more of an opening, and his crew nailed it. That happens.”
Kirkwood, who was vying for his third win in four years, finished right where he started in fourth.
“I had a good cushion and figured even with a bad stop I’d probably stay ahead but I knew there’d probably be a yellow at some point and there it came,” Rosenqvist lamented. “Considering Alex had primary [tires], also I think we would’ve been able to hold him off. It’s definitely disappointing when you can’t wrap it up.”
Dixon, who started in the sixth position, was third and earned his first podium this season and the 136th of his career.
Fans watch with two laps left in the race.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
“The race itself was a bit blah — I sat in the same position for most of it,” Dixon said. “Luckily for us we had it easy out of that last stop.”
Al Unser Jr. holds the record for most wins at Long Beach, chalking up six in eight years, including an unmatched four in a row from 1988 to 1991.
Tom Sargent is becoming a fan of street circuits after two wins this weekend. Driving the Porsche 911 Cup for GMG Racing in the Mobil Pro Class, the 22-year-old Australian led from start to finish in Race 1 of the Carrera Cup North America on Saturday. In Race 2 on Sunday morning, he again started from the pole and claimed a 0.965-second victory over Aaron Jeansonne to complete the double.
In his last bid at Long Beach three years ago, he hit the wall on Lap 2 but still finished second.
“Momentum in sports is critical and the past few weeks have been really cool for me,” Sargent said. “I didn’t do any street circuit racing before I came to the States. Maybe it fits my driving style.”
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LAS VEGAS – Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio were once brothers in arms in the Judgment Day. The two helped the faction run “Monday Night Raw” for several years.
As championships and opportunities came and went, the rift between Balor and Mysterio grew. It came to a head when Balor caused Mysterio to lose the Intercontinental Championship to Penta. Balor leaving the Judgment Day left Mysterio and Liv Morgan as the leaders with JD McDonagh, Raquel Rodriguez and Roxanne Perez sticking around.
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The latter four chose to ride with Mysterio and attacked Balor on one episode of Raw.
The bitter war led to a match Sunday night at WrestleMania 42. To make matters more interesting, Raw General Manager Adam Pearce made the match a street fight hours before the show was set to begin.
Balor had vowed to bring the “Demon” out and he certainly did.
JACOB FATU PUTS DREW MCINTYRE IN THE ‘REAR VIEW’ IN UNSANCTIONED MATCH AT WRESTLEMANIA 42
Finn Balor is introduced before his match against Dominik Mysterio during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Balor made his way to the ring in his “Demon” gear, dripping with red and black paint. Mysterio was in a mask with other Mysterio supporters.
The two then proceeded to beat the crud out of each other.
Mysterio wrapped Balor’s head in between a chair and hit a 619 on him. He tried to pin Balor, but to no avail. At another point, Mysterio tossed Balor through a table set up in the corner.
As many have learned, it’s hard to keep your demons down. Mysterio learned the hard way.
Balor would not give up. Balor clotheslined Mysterio, hit him with a chair multiple times before wrapping his head in between the chair and drop-kicking him into the corner. Balor put Mysterio onto a table and hit the Coup de Grâce for the win.
Dominik Mysterio is introduced before his match against Finn Balor during WrestleMania 42 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 19, 2026. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Balor excised his own demons, while Mysterio is still haunted.
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