Products featured in this Yahoo article are selected by our shopping writers. We will earn a commission from purchases made via links in this article. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Yahoo Sports

Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the NFL wouldn't let him have a pet lion on the sideline

Tyler Greenawalt

·Staff writer

Updated 1 August 2023 at 12:57 pm·1-min read

Dan Campbell's dream of owning a pet lion will have to wait. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has said some wild things since he was hired in 2021. From his caffeine consumption to the famous "bite kneecaps" line, Campbell has always said whatever comes to his mind — even in front of the media.

But perhaps his craziest idea occurred soon after he joined the Lions when he wanted to get a pet lion to live at the team's practice facility. He said on the "Pardon My Take" podcast that in 2021 he wanted "a legit pet lion on a chain, a big-ass chain" whom he could walk around with at practice.

[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for free today]

Well, Campbell apparently wasn't kidding when he said he asked Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp for it. And while Campbell said she OK'd the ask, the NFL shut it down.

"Sheila, she had no problem with it, but the league apparently frowns on those types of things," Campbell said on a recent "Pardon My Take" episode. "I’m not gonna point out [NFL commissioner] Roger [Goodell] on this, I’m just gonna say that the league frowns on that, let’s just say that.”

Live animal mascots aren't uncommon in the NFL. The Baltimore Ravens have two, the Denver Broncos have an Arabian horse, the Seattle Seahawks have a hawk and the Cleveland Browns have a bull mastiff. The Kansas City Chiefs used to have a pinto horse and the Miami Dolphins used to have a live dolphin.

But none of those animals offers the same size and terror as a lion would. Sadly, Campbell will have to keep dreaming.

NextShark
16-year-old Chinese boy beat with iron rod on New Zealand bus
On Friday morning, during the Maori New Year public holiday, a 16-year-old teen named Jason was brutally attacked on an Auckland bus by a woman wielding an iron rod. The assailant, described as a Maori woman “more than 200 kilograms," hit Jason multiple times and stabbed him in the face, knocking out five of his teeth, on board the bus after having allegedly shouted "ch*nk" at him at Johns Lane stop. Man intervenes: A 75-year-old Chinese man, Penglai Qiuyue, intervened and managed to grab the weapon, though he was also injured in the process.
Malay Mail
Abused husky rescued after viral video, owner files police report demanding his dog back (VIDEO)
KUALA LUMPUR, JULY 3 — A viral video showing a man beating his dog, a husky, while his other, smaller dog cowered in a c...
The Telegraph
The world must prepare for President Michelle Obama
The 2024 US Presidential race intensifies. Speculation abounds over potential replacements for President Joe Biden amid increasing pressure from his party and the media to step aside after a jaw-dropping, catastrophic debate against Donald Trump last week. Among the names circulating, a game-changer is emerging: Michelle Obama. Could this be America’s worst nightmare?
Malay Mail
As AG stays silent, Rosmah presses on with bid to strike out money laundering and tax evasion charges
KUALA LUMPUR, July 4 — Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor's money laundering and tax evasion trial proceeded today despite the lac...
The Telegraph
Michelle Obama the only Biden alternative who would beat Trump
The only prospective candidate who could beat Donald Trump in the presidential election is Michelle Obama, according to a new poll.
Malay Mail
Tour bus driver in fatal Genting crash claims trial to reckless driving causing death, and having no valid licence
KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — S. Anand Kumar, the Malaysian man behind the wheel of the tour bus that overturned and killed two...
Malay Mail
Singapore’s new S$20,000 cash declaration rules: What Malaysians need to know
Singapore has implemented new regulations since May requiring all travellers to declare cash exceeding S$20,000 (RM69...
Malay Mail
In court, Mais and Hindu family agree man won’t be reburied according to Islamic rites; next-of-kin to inherit assets
KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — A court dispute between the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and a Hindu family was sett...
Bloomberg
These flight routes suffer the world’s worst turbulence
A series of incidents that left scores of airline passengers needing medical attention has shone a spotlight on the problem of severe in-flight turbulence.
People
Jennifer Lopez Flaunts Her Abs in White Crop Top and Baggy Jeans During N.Y.C. Outing
Lopez was spotted wearing her wedding ring with the casual attire
The Telegraph
Hindu priest sexually abused hundreds of followers, High Court hears
A woman accusing a religious leader of exploiting and sexually abusing her told the High Court he has done it to “hundreds” of his followers over the last 40 years.
Entertainment Weekly
Victoria and David Beckham rewear purple wedding outfits to celebrate 25th anniversary: 'Look what we found'
The soccer star and Spice Girls singer married July 4, 1999.
Bloomberg
China urges Philippines to punish killers of Chinese citizen
China called on the Philippines to catch and severely punish the murderers of a Chinese citizen in a kidnapping case that prompted Beijing’s diplomatic intervention.
The Daily Beast
Daughter, Zara Tindall, ‘Shaken to the Core’ by Princess Anne’s Amnesia
Zara Tindall has been left “shaken to the core” by her mother Princess Anne’s mystery encounter with a horse which left her with a brain injury that has resulted in amnesia, according to a report.OK! Magazine says that Zara, 43, has been left freaked out by the incident which saw Anne, 73, also known as The Princess Royal, struck by a horse while she was out walking, alone, on Sunday, June 23, at her home, Gatcombe Park, in the Cotswolds.She was treated at the scene and then hospitalized for fiv
InStyle
A Timeline of Nick Jonas & Priyanka Chopra's Hollywood Love Story
They first met at a Vanity Fair Oscars party, and later went to the Met Gala together before officially dating.
The Telegraph
Every Euro 2024 quarter-final team ranked: England dead last – this is why
The most boring and ponderous team to watch but you have to be in it to win it and Southgate’s side are still there somehow. Being fun to watch is great but playing badly and winning is not a terrible habit to have in knockout football. Might be wishful thinking but surely they have to play better at some point. Then they might still be dangerous.
People
Victoria and David Beckham Slip Back into Their Iconic Purple Wedding Outfits to Celebrate 25th Anniversary
The couple got married on July 4, 1999
The Telegraph
Have the Houthis sunk a British warship? Here’s what actually happened
Yesterday afternoon the Iranian-backed militia in Yemen, the Houthis, claimed they had targeted four ships which they deemed to belong to the US/UK/Israel “trio evil”. According to the rapidly becoming famous Houthi spokesman Yahya Sare’e – the Comical Ali of the 2020s – “the British landing ship Anvil Point” was targeted and “the hit was accurate and direct. The ship was targeted by a number of cruise missiles.”
Malay Mail
‘Uncle Roger’, the internet’s favourite fried rice critic, opening a restaurant in Malaysia?
KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 — Nigel Ng, better known by his alter ego “Uncle Roger”, has teased opening a restaurant in Malaysi...
AFP News
Single and proud: S. Korean YouTuber's viral embrace of solo life
South Korea has declared its super-low birthrate a "national emergency" and poured billions into encouraging citizens to marry and reproduce, but one YouTuber has found happiness and success promoting the opposite ideal.At her home in rural South Korea, Seen Aromi practices yoga, sleeps in as long as she wants and encourages her more than 200,000 YouTube followers to not feel afraid, ashamed or guilty about being single.

Latest stories