Detroit Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown nearly penalized for 'Key & Peele' TD celebration
Life apparently imitated art last Thursday night in Kansas City after Detroit Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown scored the opening touchdown in the game. Shortly after arriving in the end zone, St. Brown sought out his teammates and cameras to hit a pre-planned celebration.
And the hip-thrusting celebration nearly cost the Lions 15 yards, a la a famous sketch from the show “Key & Peele.” On a podcast with his brother, Equanimeous, St. Brown explained that he came one pump away from a personal foul.
“But I hit it, boom, no flag. I get to the sideline, sit down, I’m celebrating, boom. And then my receiver coach is like, ‘Hey, Saint, one more pump they said they were going to throw the flag.’ I’m like, ‘Hey, it’s done now. I already got it off. Ain’t no more pumps.’ Apparently the ref told our head coach that, ‘If he does one more pump, they would’ve thrown the flag.’ And then he told our receiver coach and he told me,” St. Brown said.
His brother was amused, even pointing out it was a near copy of the Key & Peele sketch where tight end “Hingle McCringleberry” scores and gets penalized for not one, not two, but three hip thrusts.
“That’s crazy that they’re actually counting pumps like the Key & Peele skit. That’s crazy,” Equanimeous said.
It wasn’t a spur of the moment celebration, either. St. Brown said he first saw teammate Marvin Jones pull off the move during some party or gathering in the offseason. St. Brown decided to debut it in a joint practice against the New York Giants.
He might’ve retired it after the lone use were it not for rookie teammate Jahmyr Gibbs offering some encouragement just before the Lions opener against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“And I was talking to Jahmyr and some other guys before the game like, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do if I score.’ He’s like, ‘Do the little thing you’ve been doing with your hands.’ I’m like, ‘Bet, I’m gonna do it,'” St. Brown said. “I said, ‘If I get fined though, you’re going to take care of it, right?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I gotchu.'”
However, not all of St. Brown’s offensive teammates were aware that he would hit the celebration in front of the cameras. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta would’ve appreciated a heads up so he wasn’t a bystander for the celebration.
“And then one of my teammates, Sam LaPorta, one of our tight ends, he was like, ‘Bro, I felt so stupid.’ He was just standing there looking at me. He was like, ‘Bro next time you gotta tell me what you’re doing.’ I’m like, ‘Bro, my bad. We talked about it I didn’t tell you,'” St. Brown said.
The celebration was not as appreciated by the league, though. Along with potentially flagging St. Brown for the number of thrusts, the league might not be too happy that he sought out the cameras for the celebration like many players do.
The cameras quickly panned away when St. Brown began hip thrusting, something his brother noted on the podcast. St. Brown said he has a clip from another angle showing the full celebration.
He’s still not certain he won’t get fined, but so far no envelope from the league has showed up at the Lions facility for him.
“I replayed it 50 times to see like, ‘Am I getting fined?'” St. Brown said.