Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe’s outspoken support of same-sex marriage, he believes, cost him his job. Now he’s charging his team’s owners with reneging on their promise to release a report on the harassment and homophobic behavior he says he endured — and suing them.
Chris Kluwe was the Grand Marshal for DC’s Capital Pride last month. That’s him in the photo above.
Kluwe, a straight ally, came to the attention of the LGBT community when he wrote an anti-gay Maryland lawmaker who had attacked NFL player and fellow LGBT ally Brendon Ayanbadejo‘s bosses for allowing him to support same-sex marriage. In his 2012 open letter, Kluwe promised Del. Burns he would not become a “lustful cockmonster” if marriage were extended to same-sex couples. That’s the kind of guy Chris Kluwe is. Unabashed intelligent, and hysterical.
But after Kluwe was fired from the Minnesota Vikings, he slowly revealed his beliefs that he was fired after several years of being an outspoken LGBT ally. Kluwe appeared at the 2013 GLAAD Awards with Ayanbadejo — who also lost his job as an NFL player after being an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights.
In early January, Kluwe’s respectful tone to his former employers took a sharp turn. Here’s what he wrote in a Deadspin article:
Hello. My name is Chris Kluwe, and for eight years I was the punter for the Minnesota Vikings. In May 2013, the Vikings released me from the team. At the time, quite a few people asked me if I thought it was because of my recent activism for same-sex marriage rights, and I was very careful in how I answered the question. My answer, verbatim, was always, “I honestly don’t know, because I’m not in those meetings with the coaches and administrative people.â€
This is a true answer. I honestly don’t know if my activism was the reason I got fired.
However, I’m pretty confident it was.
Kluwe went on to charge that “two cowards” and “a bigot” fired him.
So the Vikings announced they would launch a thorough investigation into Kluwe’s claims — not out of being magnanimous, but because Kluwe, if the charges are true, could sue them.
Kluwe’s Deadspin op-ed was not an exercise in polite discourse.
It’s my belief, based on everything that happened over the course of 2012, that I was fired by Mike Priefer, a bigot who didn’t agree with the cause I was working for, and two cowards, Leslie Frazier and Rick Spielman, both of whom knew I was a good punter and would remain a good punter for the foreseeable future, as my numbers over my eight-year career had shown, but who lacked the fortitude to disagree with Mike Priefer on a touchy subject matter. (Frazier was fired on Monday, at the conclusion of a 5-10-1 season.) One of the main coaching points I’ve heard throughout my entire life is, “How you respond to difficult situations defines your character,†and I think it’s a good saying. I also think it applies to more than just the players.
Today, the Viking announced their investigation is complete — but they are refusing to release the report, believed by Kluwe’s attorney to be 150 pages long with 1600 citations, or any details about it.
Kluwe, who wrote a book last year titled, Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies: On Myths, Morons, Free Speech, Football, and Assorted Absurdities, is crying foul.
And he plans to sue, according to sportswriter Andrew Krammer and others.
Kluwe, attorneys filing a lawsuit to make report public, which they claim #Vikings won’t do.
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) July 15, 2014
Clayton Halunen said he’s been informed #Vikings had to interview Priefer “three times before he told the truth.”
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) July 15, 2014
Another sportswriter, Tom Pelissero, adds:
Kluwe will sue for religious discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, defamation and tortuous interference.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 15, 2014
There were settlement talks, Kluwe’s attorney said, in which he would’ve gotten $1M from #Vikings and donated to LGBT causes.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) July 15, 2014
Image by Tim Evanson via Flickr