Amon-Ra St. Brown made it clear this week he’d much rather watch Saint Nick shimmy down his chimney on Thursday than play in an NFL game.
The 26-year-old Lions superstar admitted to his brother on the “St. Brown Podcast” that he’s “not a fan” of having to work on Christmas Day this year, especially since Detroit plays on Thanksgiving annually.
“The two biggest holidays I feel like in the United States,” St. Brown said, “we played on both of them.
“And I don’t even have kids yet. If I had kids, I’d be even more pissed. Like, you can’t be spending it with your family. Get to see your kids open gifts — I feel like that’s something that a lot of parents love to see and can’t wait for.
“So, I don’t even like it and I’m not even a f–king father yet.”
To make matters even more frustrating for St. Brown, the Lions have to hit the road on the special holiday, with their matchup against the Vikings slated to kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET in Minneapolis.
“Us traveling,” St. Brown said, “it’s like, damn.”
The four-time Pro Bowler has never played on Christmas in any of his five seasons in the league. The closest he got was on Dec. 26 during his rookie year in 2021. He then played on Christmas Eve in both 2022 and ’23.
He’s hardly the only superstar athlete who wishes he had Xmas off, as LeBron James said over the weekend that he would rather spend the day away from an NBA hardwood.
Yet while St. Brown will be miles from family and enjoying Santa’s work from afar, he did nonetheless say he appreciated the opportunity to shine on such a public stage.
“Hey, another primetime game, can’t really complain,” he said. “And I love playing at Minnesota. So, it should be a good one.”
