A curious rumor started spreading on Thursday, with the source being the mouth of Green Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs.
During an appearance on the “Green Light with Chris Long” podcast, Jacobs was asked what he was most excited about for the Packers’ scheduled season-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in São Paulo, Brazil. His answer wasn’t exactly what the NFL and Brazil would have wanted to hear.
The two-time Pro Bowler, who signed a four-year, $48 million contract with the Packers in March, claimed he had been told that people would not be allowed to wear green and that the area was dangerous enough that players would potentially have to stay off the streets unless they were in armored vehicles.
Jacobs’ comments:
They said that the part of Brazil that we’re going to, you can’t even wear green at … I guess something to do with the gangs and stuff.
They said ‘We’re not going to Rio.” They told us it’s one of those places where they probably won’t even let us leave … They probably gonna have, like, armored vehicles following us. I said ‘Bro, why are we out here? Why are we here?’
They was like ‘Just pack black and white colors,’ because they were like ‘When you come here, we don’t want no mishaps.’
Given that the Packers and Eagles are two of the three NFL teams that use green as a primary color, scheduling them to play in a place where you can’t safely wear green would be quite odd indeed.
The basis of Jacobs’ claims boils down to soccer rivalries, as Arena Corinthians, where the game will be held, is home to Corinthians, a red-wearing club whose mortal enemies of Palmeiras wear green. There is a considerable history of violence between the two fan bases.
However, NFL spokesperson Michael Signora responded the next day via the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff Neiburg and did his best to debunk Jacobs’ claims. Signora reportedly said, “You will see a stadium full of fans wearing the green of the Eagles and the green of the Packers.”
He also added that Jacobs’ claims were “not true” and “discussion of the color green is related to soccer,” with no impact on the NFL game.
Per a Brazilian community of Eagles fans on X, the origin of that misinformation might be a joke made by a Corinthians representative when the game was initially announced, saying in jest that the teams should avoid wearing green. The Inquirer also notes that São Paulo mayor Ricardo Nunes made a similar joke about the jersey colors at a recent press conference.
Jacobs apparently got the message, posting, “Damn I was misinformed. Sorry Brazil see you soon.” on his Instagram story Friday.
With all that hopefully put to rest, kickoff is still scheduled for Sept. 6 at 8:15 p.m. ET in São Paulo.