Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell recently attempted to motivate his players in German ahead of an international matchup against the New England Patriots.
Unfortunately, his translation efforts hit a snag when he tried to incorporate profanity into a message about reaching potential.
Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown quickly stepped in to ensure his coach understood the literal translation of his remarks, according to “Yahoo Sports”.
Campbell explained his thought process during a press conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday.
He noted that he often gives pointers to the team on subtleties such as spreading their wings.
He wanted to add an English curse word to the phrase for emphasis.
Campbell detailed the misunderstanding by stating, “I’m looking up a way to say somewhat, maybe, the F-word in front of ‘wings.’ ‘Spread your…’”
He continued his recollection by adding, “I see Scheiße is as close as I can get to it. And Saint’s like, ‘Shit wings?’”
St. Brown was uniquely qualified to assist his coach with the language barrier.
The receiver grew up speaking German with his mother, Miriam, and maintains a strong connection to his family heritage, per “Detroit Sports Nation”.
The Lions are scheduled to face the Patriots at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
The game marks Detroit’s first international regular-season appearance since 2015, according to “the team’s official schedule announcement”.
Campbell has emphasized that his primary focus remains on beating the Patriots despite the overseas distractions, as noted by “Detroit Sports Nation”.
Meanwhile, the organization has planned several fan activations throughout the city, according to “Detroit Lions news reports”.
Social media reaction to the linguistic blunder also highlighted the moment, with a video shared by “Brad Galli” capturing the discussion.
Whether the Lions come out flying on Sunday, Campbell may decide to leave future foreign language translations to his star receiver.