Why Teen Was Banned for Life from Detroit Lions Stadium

A Detroit Lions fan from West Bloomfield has seen his last live game, at least from Ford Field.

The teenager was handed a lifetime ban from the stadium after he reportedly used a laser pointer to distract two Buffalo Bills players during last Sunday’s game.

Lions team president Tom Lewand said during an appearance on WJR Radio’s “Frank Beckmann Show” the sanction is light, and he wishes the NFL franchise could punish him legally. The teen’s actions cost the Lions a disorderly conduct charge.

“Unfortunately, those laws aren’t on the books,” Lewand said.

Detroit police cited the teen for misdemeanor disorderly conduct, ESPN reports, and his actions also cost the season-ticket holder whose tickets were used the rest of his privileges for the season.

“The ticket is a contract between us and the ticket holder and ... the ticket holder holds up his or her end of the bargain, and we hold up our end of the bargain,” Lewand said. “So once that ticket leaves your hands, you do lose control but ultimately you can be responsible for those. …”

The teen reportedly shined a green laser pointer in Bills’ quarterback Kyle Orton’s face during the game. He threw an incomplete pass in the next play, FOX Sports said, and filed a report with NFL security.

Another player, holder Colton Schmidt, was also targeted with a laser, Bills Coach Doug Marrone said. As a result, Bills place kicker Dan Carpenter missed a 50-yard field goal late in the third quarter.

“It was shining on Colton on the hold,” Carpenter told reporters in post-game comments.

The Bills won the game, 17-14.

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• What other laser pointer problems are out there, and how should they be handled?

Lewand told WJR that fans give the Lions tremendous support that can give the team a hometown edge when they play at Ford Field.

“We have tremendous fans; 99.9 percent of them are great, they provide us with a fantastic atmosphere down at Ford Field,” he said. “But it’s up to all of us, starting with us as the team and the stadium to root those people out (causing problems) and rely on the support of our fans to help us identify those knuckleheads, and we also rely on law enforcement when we need their assistance. “

ESPN said the teen bragged about using the laser pointer in a Tweet from an account that has since been deleted.

“You see a green light on any of the bills players just laugh cause it’s me,” he said in one Tweet. In another, he said, “Got Kyle Orton complained to the ref when I got him with the laser.”

The Tweets helped Detroit police and NFL security identify the culprit. “I certainly don’t think he did himself any favors by talking about it,” Lewand told ESPN.

MLive reports the teen’s father filed a police report with West Bloomfield Township authorities and said his son is being harassed after various websites and social media sites disclosed his name and address. Some sites are encouraging fans to harass the teen, MLive said.

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Photo: Prescott Rossi via Twitter