(WWJ) — Friday’s planned Matthew Stafford jersey exchange in Livonia and watch parties for the Detroit Lions' playoff game Sunday night against the Los Angeles Rams have both been postponed.
Metro Detroit Realtor Jeff Glover announced Thursday night he would no longer be going through with his event in Livonia after getting a call from the league earlier in the day.
“Got a call late this afternoon from the NFL, and as a die-hard Lions fan my whole life, it pains me to have to announce this,” Glover said in a Facebook post.
“At the request of the NFL, Glover Agency is prohibited from hosting the Lions Jersey Exchange at this time. We hope to get back to you with a rescheduled date soon. Our sincerest apologies,” a graphic posted to the page reads.
Emagine Theatres across Metro Detroit had planned to host parties to watch Sunday's game, but also posted a graphic similar to that put out by Glover Agency.
"At the request of the NFL, Emagine is prohibited from hosting its planned viewing party at our locations. We apologize to our guests," the graphic reads.
The realtor had planned to give away 1,000 new Detroit Lions jerseys in exchange for “gently used” Matthew Stafford Lions jerseys. Glover had intended to donate the Stafford jerseys to Los Angeles homeless shelters, he said when he announced the event on Wednesday.
“Due to the volume and process of the jersey exchange, they are not allowing us to go through with it tomorrow,” said a caption accompanying Glover’s graphic posted on Thursday night. “We apologize to anyone who made plans to be there, as we are just as upset with this decision as you may be. At the end of the day, Go Lions.”
With Glover's event previously slated to happen at Twin Peaks in Livonia, near I-275 and 8 Mile, Glover told Fox 2 in Detroit will still be giving fans who show up a $25 gift card to Twin Peaks.
Earlier this week Glover told WWJ’s Jeremy Jenkins he wanted to give fans a chance to support Jared Goff as the longtime Lions QB comes to town for this Sunday night’s Wild Card playoff game, the franchise’s first at home in 30 years.
“If you go to any Lions game today, the crowd is still littered with Stafford jerseys,” Glover said previously. “And, you know, we’re in the playoffs with a new quarterback, we should support our new quarterback. And we’re now playing our previous quarterback, so he’s an opponent.”
No officials with the NFL or the Lions had commented publicly on the event or the decision to postpone as of Thursday night.