Two Lions players are making sure the work of thieves don't ruin the season of a Detroit high school football team.
Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, running back Jahvid Best and a Quicken Loans sister company equipped players at Frederick Douglass College Preparatory Academy for Young Men with cleats, gloves and helmets in time for Friday's game against Detroit Denby. Two suburban teams also donated shoulder pads.
Suh and Best, both first-round draft picks by the Lions last year, passed out some of the new equipment before the game, which Douglass won 50-0, improving its record to 5-1.
"I felt bad for them, being in a tough situation," Suh told The Detroit News. "It's nothing more than trying to give something to them that they need."
Said Best: "Us being blessed, we just wanted to give something back."
Coaches discovered the team's equipment missing Monday from Douglass' field house in Detroit. According to The News, the team couldn't conduct contract drills this week because some players were forced to practice in street shoes.
Three years ago, electrical wiring, copper plumbing and toilets were stolen during a break-in, leaving Douglass' locker room bare, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
