A Detroit-area craft brewery that recently introduced a lager which mocked the long-suffering Lions organization has seen its trolling efforts stymied by the legendary Barry Sanders, as he is unhappy over the beer’s can featuring his likeness.
A report from the Detroit Free Press this week cast a spotlight on Eastern Market Brewing, the outfit behind Same Old Lager. The name of the beer purports to highlight when it comes to Lions and losing, some things never change.
Promotional materials on social media and elsewhere have shown that the can features a grainy, 8-bit image that clearly depicts Sanders.
On Monday, Sanders took to Twitter to apologize fans who may have been “duped” by the brewery into thinking he had any affiliation with the company or Same Old Lager, a riff on the “Same Old Lions” lament uttered by the team’s fan base for decades.
It appears Sanders’ threats of legal action have had the desired effect.
“A message left with Dayne Bartscht, the managing partner of Eastern Market Brewing, was not immediately returned,” reports Michael Rothstein of ESPN. “The person who answered the phone at the number listed for Eastern Market Brewing said the brewery had no comment and declined to give his full name.”
Along with the company’s evident reticence to go on the record about the controversy, a Facebook post touting Same Old Lager has been pulled and there is no longer any mention of the beer on the company’s website.
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