INT, LOCKER ROOM – DAY

BRANDON WEGHER: Well guys, this is it. Cut day.

CHAD ALECXIH: Yep.

DAMIERE BYRD: It’s been great getting to play with you guys so far. I hope we all make the team.

BRANDON: One last ride for the Three Musketeers!

DAMIERE: Listen, I don’t want to be a dick, but you’re the only one who has EVER called us that.

CHAD: Yeah, man, it’s kind of embarrassing.

DAMIERE: Anyhow, Coach said he’d let us know our status as soon as the fourth was done.

BRANDON: Fourth what?  Quarter?

DAMIERE: Beats me.  All I know is that I just heard someone doing a LOT of swearing outside, so…

[DOOR FLIES OPEN]

COACH RIVERA: [speaking into headset]…and then a nickel on the Packers. [takes off headset, mutters to self] I’ll make it back…I’ll make it back.

CHAD: Coach…were you…gambling?

COACH RIVERA: What?  Gambling?  No, no…I was…uh…talking!  With…Dave Gettleman!  About players we should be looking to sign after cuts.  Green Bay’s got some extra cornerbacks they’ll be unloading, I figured we could take a look.

An awkward pause ensues. Coach Rivera checks his phone, mutters a swear.

DAMIERE: So…

CHAD: Got anything to tell us, coach?

COACH RIVERA: [glances around] Lord Byron in the fifth.

BRANDON: Beg pardon?

COACH RIVERA: Lord Byron in the fifth. AND KEEP IT QUIET! Odds are weak enough as it is.  I don’t need every Tommy Tattletale and Billy Blabbermouth spreading this around town and crowding in on the action.  Right [glares at CHAD], Chattterbox Chad?

DAMIERE: No, coach, about whether we made the team.

COACH RIVERA: The team? No, those MIT kids…oh, right, you mean the FOOTBALL team! Yeah, sorry, you guys are all cut.

CHAD: Oh no!

BRANDON: Aw, man!

COACH RIVERA: Yeah, that’s tough luck, and I need you guys out of here right away. My, uh, mortgage broker’s gonna be here any minute and he don’t like people seeing his face if they’re not, uh, taking out a new loan or, uh, making one of their monthly principal payments.

The players line up to leave, with BRANDON closest to the door, followed by CHAD and then DAMIERE.

DAMIERE: Come on, coach, give us one more shot!

CHAD: Yeah, take a chance on us!

COACH RIVERA: [pauses thoughtfully] Ah, damnit, you boys really know how to push the right buttons with me. Okay, here’s what I’m gonna do. Here’s a set of novelty helmets I found lying around. Lookit this? A cow’s head! Hilarious! Anyhow, I got two of these blue helmets, and three of our silver ones. Close your eyes, boys.

They comply. COACH RIVERA selects three helmets at random from the batch of five, and puts them on the players’ heads. DAMIERE can see the helmets of the two other players (Chad and Brandon) who are standing in front of him. CHAD can only see the helmet of the player in front of him (Brandon). BRANDON cannot see anyone else’s helmet.  None of the players can see the helmet on their own head.

COACH RIVERA: Okay, so this is kinda like liars dice. Each one of you can take the chance of guessing which helmet you’ve got on your head. Now if you don’t have any idea, that’s fine. No hard feelings, no change in status. You’re still off the roster, but maybe someone else signs you, or maybe we’ll stash you on the practice squad. So it goes. Now if you take a guess and you’re right, you’re on the team. La dee fucking da. But here’s the thing – if you guess and you’re WRONG, I will blacklist the FUCK out of you from here to Canada and you will never play another down of football in your life. EVER. So…Damiere, you want to roll the dice?

DAMIERE: [thinks it over] I have no idea, Coach. I’ll pass.

COACH RIVERA: Heh heh, you sounded just like Don Coryell there, boy. Okay, no hard feelings. Chad?

CHAD: [considers] I don’t know, either, Coach.  Not worth the risk.

COACH RIVERA: All right, nothing ventured, nothing lost. It’s a shame Marty Schottenheimer isn’t coaching anymore, he’d snap you up off waivers faster than an Andy Reid heartbeat. Brandon, you wanna take a shot at the title?

BRANDON: [grins] I do, coach. I know what helmet I’ve got on!  I’m gonna be a Panther!

What kind of helmet did BRANDON WEGHER have on, and how did he know?  For the purposes of this puzzle, assume that DAMIERE and CHAD made the “right” decision in that they could not be sure of what kind of helmet they were wearing, and therefore did not guess.  

LINK TO PUZZLE SOLUTION