Furious Lions: NFL Films deletes critical video about Brian Branch

Lions’ Locker Room Unease Over NFL Films Video About Brian Branch

The Detroit Lions’ locker room showed disagreement with an NFL Films video that was published and subsequently removed from social media. The audiovisual material, focused on suspended safety Brian Branch, generated criticism for being considered excessively critical. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Lions wide receiver, expressed his surprise at the content about Branch, which was part of NFL Films’ “Turning Point” series. The one-minute video, narrated by Louis Riddick, showed Branch in a negative light, with a series of unfavorable plays from the game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I thought that video was crazy. I don’t know why it was released, the reason behind it,” St. Brown commented. “Brian Branch is an incredible guy. In the building, he’s one of the nicest guys. He’s quiet; you never really see him angry. He’s always smiling. He made a mistake, he knows it and apologized, and I don’t know why it’s still dragging on, but I don’t think that video was right.”

Amon-Ra St. Brown

Branch was suspended for one game without pay for unsportsmanlike conduct, after hitting Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, which led to a brief altercation at the end of the game. Branch’s suspension was upheld after an appeal. DJ Reader, Lions defensive lineman, also called the video “weird.”

“If you say you don’t want to glorify something, you don’t want something in the game or this, that and the other, then, why release this new video about it and it’s narrated and you’re literally highlighting plays over and over and over again?”, Reader questioned. “So you’re shedding more light on that than the internet did on something that already happened. If you’re trying to move on, then move on. It doesn’t seem like that’s what you guys were looking for”.

DJ Reader

Reader was shocked by the video’s narration and Riddick’s choice of words, which generated negative reactions online.

“Those things just give you more clarity in my mind to see how people really think and how they really feel about you,” Reader said. “As a player, how can you trust the [NFL] shield now? If they want to throw this out there and that’s how they shed light on it. You have to play for your organization, you trust them and the people you work with, but as far as the shield, the people in New York? I can’t trust them. I can’t believe they really have your back or care about my safety or well-being. People who care about you don’t do that.”

DJ Reader

Riddick issued a statement on social media on Friday, explaining that the intention of “Turning Point” is to document the events of a game, both good and bad, and that there was never any intention of portraying Branch in a negative way. The NFL also issued a statement about the clip and its removal. The NFL explained that the video felt different as a standalone excerpt on social media than as part of a nine-minute analysis of the Lions-Chiefs game, and that it was considered overly critical of Brian, which is why it was removed.