Former Vikings Punter Threatens to Sue Team over Gay Slur
The recent past is coming back to haunt the Minnesota Vikings.
As you may recall, former punter Chris Kluwe is a gay rights advocate who was cut last spring by the Vikings for what he believes was his stance on gay rights.
One of the people whom Kluwe accused of voicing gay slurs is special teams coordinator Mike Priefer, who was recently retained by the club, most likely because his contract with the team had time to run. Interestingly, he was the only member of fired coach Leslie Moonves' staff who was retained by new head coach Mike Zimmer. The formal announcement was made yesterday, which raised Kluwe's blood pressure to Defcon 1.
The Vikings were supposedly still in the process of conducting an investigation of Priefer and what he said, which Kluwe originally accepted in good faith.
Well, it's obviously not off the table anymore.
Yesterday's announcement of Priefer's remaining in the Vikings' employ has ticked off Kluwe and his lawyer to the point that Minnesota looks to be finding themselves in the midst of a lawsuit.
"My one word description is 'outrageous,' " Kluwe's attorney Clayton Halunen said.
"It's almost unimaginable that there's a pending investigation regarding whether or not this guy engaged in homophobic, hate-filled behavior and without even a conclusion in the findings they've retained this person as a coach, as a leader."
Halunen continued:
"It's unbelievable to us; it shows that the Vikings are not sincere about this supposed investigation, that it's a mere charade, and at the end of the day they're going to cover up this."
"It's just a matter of when we begin litigation. That's the only question in my mind now. Do we immediately file suit or do we wait and see if we get the confirmation we get from their supposed investigation?"
There are also reports circulating that there's physical proof of Kluwe's allegations through text messages.
Kluwe's lawyer doesn't sound like he or his client are playing, and if I were the Vikings, I'd reconsider the thought process of bringing back a guy who may cost them millions down the line if the allegations are confirmed.