“I Did Not Mean to Offend”: Amon-Ra St. Brown Opens Up on His Donald Trump Dance Celebration

Amon-Ra St. Brown is known not just for his ability to find the end zone—his 30 receiving TDs since 2023 are the most in the NFL over that span—but for what he does after he gets there. His Superman/Spider-Man celebration with Jahmyr Gibbs earlier this year was a great example of how creative he can be. But he can also be edgy, as he proved with his latest touchdown celly.

After powering through a couple of Washington Commanders defenders from 10 yards out for his eighth score of the season last Sunday, St. Brown got up, pointed at a suite up in the stands, and did a little dance. A little “Donald Trump Dance,” to be exact:

St. Brown was pointing toward a suite that happened to house none other than the U.S. President himself. But given how polarizing the Commander in Chief has been in his first year in office, St. Brown’s decision to mimic Trump’s signature dance didn’t sit well with many NFL fans. As the reaction spread, the Lions star decided to address the moment on his podcast this week.

“If I offended anyone, I do apologize. I did not mean to offend anyone,” the wideout said on his podcast.

“It was just, we’re having fun. If any President was at that game, if they had a dance, I would have done it. Had nothing to do with who the President was… We were just having fun doing the dance, nothing more, nothing less,” he added.

Some may view the dance as insensitive, but it seems rather harmless given the context. Doing Trump’s dance in front of him while beating his team so soundly could also be seen as a lighthearted jab at the President, depending on how you look at it. And as St. Brown pointed out, it’s not often that the President attends an actual NFL game.

Trump attended the 44-22 blowout win for the Lions in D.C. as Commanders owner Josh Harris’ guest, becoming the first sitting U.S. President to attend an NFL game in person in nearly 50 years. Before him, the last to have done it was Democrat Jimmy Carter in 1978, and Republican Richard Nixon before him in 1969.

However, just because he was the owner’s honored guest doesn’t mean Trump received anything close to a warm welcome from the DMV crowd at Northwest Stadium, which booed him heavily during the game. Trump’s administration has also floated the amusing idea that he’d like the team to name their stadium after him. It’s safe to say that seems highly unlikely.

Trump then took it one step further, actually joining the Fox broadcasting team—Jonathan Vilma and Kenny Albert—in the booth for a drive… an unprecedented move. The next day, he kept the football theme rolling, as he appeared on ESPN’s flagship program, The Pat McAfee Show.

St. Brown’s little Trump jig was not unprecedented, however. Since Trump’s dance gained wider recognition after he performed it at rallies in 2024, several other NFL players (as well as athletes in other sports) have performed the silly dance after a big play.

49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa, Raiders tight end Brock Bowers, Titans WR Calvin Ridley, and Lions edge rusher Za’Darius Smith are among those who beat St. Brown to the punch on that one. However, none of them did it right in front of Trump, which makes St. Brown’s celly a little more unique.