None shall pass! Moment Best Buy workers line up as NFL defense team as they try to stop three shoplifters from making off with stolen phones
- Store security footage shows the three shoplifters entering the Best Buy and approach a display table holding several cellphones
- The 16-second CCTV clip then shows the suspects each suddenly grab a phone, and pry them from cords connecting them to the table
- The sound of the phones being ripped from their displays attracted attention to the gang’s brazen robbery attempt
- As the trio attempt to flee, footage shows staffers quickly jumping into action
- The retail workers – whose starting wage is $15 an hour – formed a football-style defense while attempting to thwart the suspects
Best Buy staffers showed a football-style defense while attempting to a stop a gang of shoplifters from making off with several phones from one of the store’s display tables, security footage shows.
In the now viral clip, workers at the electronics retailer can be seen giving their best goal line defense in an attempt to thwart the three would-be robbers, who stormed into the store and ripped the three cellphones from a display and attempted to flee.
However, during the time it took for the robbers to rip the devices from their displays, observant staffers on the floor were quick to jump into action – with a response looked like something out of an NFL playbook.
As the thieves attempt to make way for the doors, the footage shows seven retail workers rushing to block them, shuffling in front of them as they attempt to pass, with what can only be called a football-style defense.
The clip of the coordinated maneuver, posted Monday, went viral overnight, garnering millions of views after being shared by a major NFL meme page and later Barstool Sports.
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Store security footage shows the three shoplifters entering the Best Buy and approach a display table holding several cellphones
The 16-second CCTV clip then shows the suspects each suddenly grab a phone, and pry them from cords connecting them to the table
The sound of the phones being ripped from their displays attracted attention to the gang’s brazen robbery attempt
As the trio attempt to flee, footage shows staffers quickly jumping into action, attempting to block the robbers’ exit
The retail workers – whose starting wage is $15 an hour – formed a football-style defense while attempting to thwart the suspects
As the thieves attempt to make way for the doors, the footage shows seven workers rushing to block them with a football-style defense
‘This Best Buy has a better defense than your favorite NFL team,’ a widely reshared tweet posted by @NFL_Memes Monday afternoon read.
Shortly thereafter, Barstool tweeted the same clip to their 3.6 million followers, with a caption that offered an analysis of the workers’ football formation.
‘Best Buy employees lined up in cover 3 defense to stop them from leaving,’ the tweet reads. In the span of less than 16 hours, the clip attached to the post has been viewed more than 7million times.
The location of the store, the date the attempted heist took place, and whether the thieves were ultimately caught remains unclear.
DailyMail.com contacted Best Buy Tuesday morning for further information about the incident seen in the 16-second clip – which has quickly captured the hearts of thousands of amused sports fans.
The clip of the coordinated maneuver, posted Monday, went viral overnight, garnering millions of views after being shared by Barstool Sports
‘You got to give credit to the game plan, preparation, and execution,’ one social media user wrote in a reply to Barstool’s repost of the footage, where he remarked on the speed of one of the staffers.
‘7 dudes lined up with the bend but don’t break defense. Classic. You even got one guy going so fast he’s is turning into a phantom. I can see the soda machine through his body thanks to his 99 speed.’
Others honed in on another employee, who can be seen shuffling side-to-side to cut off one of the shoplifters from making his way to the door, commenting on the staffer’s impressive moves.
‘This dude don’t care,’ one user wrote. ‘He’s trying show he’s in a good tackling stance for the league.’
Another declared: ‘This guys lateral movement is elite.’
Others commented on the impressive organization of the staffer’s spur-of-the-moment effort, with one user sharing a diagram showing a defensive coverage.
‘Mfs study this play all day at orientation,’ the user wrote.
Other observers joked about which of the seven was their favorite ‘player.’
‘The speed of the safety coming over the top is elite,’ one user wrote, circling one worker seen in the footage sprinting from outside the camera’s view from the right of the frame, in a route that saw him cut off one of the robbers.
Another preferred the moves of a different staffer – one who also runs in at high speeds from out of frame.
‘I was most impressed by the fella in the black shirt, comes in and just blows the whole play up, blue shirt across from him does a great job of being disciplined and setting that edge,’ the user wrote.
‘He know his position and understands that you don’t need to make the tackle to make the stop.’
Another joked that the staffers’ defense was better than that of the Brooklyn Nets, an NBA team that recently fell out of the league’s postseason.
‘Best buy defense is better than Brooklyn Nets,’ they remarked.
Posted Monday, the clip has quickly captured the hearts of thousands of amused Football fans who expressed their awe over the coordinated maneuver
However, not all looked at the incident in a positive light, with some Best Buy veterans noting that the staffers may have lost their jobs as a result of the maneuver, due to Best Buy’s policy of not allowing staffers to physically engage with a suspected shoplifter.
The also pointed out that the phones used in the retailers’ displays are not useable, due to their lack of International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), an identification number that allows the phone to operate.
‘Back in my days at BBY you didn’t touch thieves unless you wanted to deal with corporate trying to shitcan you for putting the store at risk,’ a former staffer wrote. ‘Especially not people trying to snatch company-provided demo units that likely aren’t even legit phones with useable IMEIs.’
‘If you’re a Best Buy employee, are you really going to try and stop these guys? For what?’ another asked.
Someone else declared: ‘If that was me, I’m not stopping those kids. I’m not putting my life or health at risk for a gigantic box store like Best Buy that has insurance for these kind of incidents.’
Another asked: ‘How valuable is a stolen phone that can’t be activated on any network?’
‘Boys risked their lives and probably lost their jobs for some display phones,’ one user wrote.
A current Best Buy staffer echoed those sentiments. ‘I currently work at Best Buy, those phones are literally inoperable,’ they wrote.
not all looked at the incident in a positive light, with some Best Buy veterans noting that the staffers may have lost their jobs as a result of the maneuver due to Best Buy’s policy of not allowing staffers to physically engage with a suspected shoplifter, with several former and current staffers noting that the store’s phones do not work and are for display only
According to Best Buy’s website, its policy concerning shoplifters ‘prohibits employees to engage or pursue a suspected shoplifter physically.
‘However,’ the policy notes, ’employees are allowed to confront the suspect while inside the store. After that, an investigation is launched to determine the viability of the claims.’
DailyMail.com reached out to Best Buy Tuesday to fain more information regarding the incident, but did not immediately hear back.
The company has a history of firing staffers that have put their bodies – and live- on the line to save store merchandise.
In September 2020, another Best Buy employee at a location in Central Oahu, Hawaii, went viral after a video showed her dramatically take down a would-be shoplifter.
The clip shows Summer Tapasa-Sataraka, then 24, outwrestling the thief, who was trying to exit the store with a television under his arm. She was later sacked for violating Best Buy’s shoplifting policy.
The incident and Tapasa-Sataraka’s subsequent firing made headlines, spurring impressed UFC boss Dana White tp offered the staffer a job as a security guard for the fighting league.
Retailers such as Best Boy have seen a sharp uptick in shoplifting since the start of the pandemic, with thieves often taking advantage of lax store policies and city bail laws.
In November, a Best Buy in Burnsville, Minnesota, was robbed after a huge group of up to 30 people entered the store and systematically stole electronics on Black Friday.
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry told analysts at the time: ‘We are definitely seeing more and more particularly organized retail crime and incidents of shrink in our locations. This is a real issue that hurts and scares real people.’
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