As you’ve probably already heard today, former Vikings punter / marriage equality advocate Chris Kluwe (above) took to the pages of Deadspin (“I Was An NFL Player Until I Was Fired By Two Cowards And A Bigot”) to suggest his exit from Minnesota was not unrelated to his political activism. Kluwe, whose previous Deadspin entry, “They Won’t Magically Turn You Into A Lustful Cockmonster” received widespread coverage last year, claims recently fired Vikes head coach Leslie Frazier repeatedly warned him against speaking out, the team’s P.R. director ran interfered with media requests and Minnesota special teams coordinator Mike Priefer told Kluwe, “I would wind up burning in hell with the gays, and that the only truth was Jesus Christ and the Bible.” On a later occasion, Kluwe claims Priefer opined, “we should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.”
The Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Chip Scoggins followed up with Kluwe on Thursday afternoon :
Q: Why write this?
Kluwe: For me, this is the point coaches and GMs are looking for career opportunities. I kept my silence for the entire year. I wasn’t going to bring that on the team during the year. Now that it’s pretty obvious that I’m not going to get another shot in the NFL, I feel like it’s a story that needs to be told.Q: You obviously put your name on it, but just checking, you stand by everything you wrote?
Kluwe: Yep. It was all accurate. I have witnesses. I prefer not to call any witnesses unless it’s legally needed because those are my friends and teammates and I’d like to keep them out of it.Q: Are you worried about fallout from this?
Kluwe: No, not really. It’s one of those things where this is what happened. I realize there will be people that say, ‘This is just sour grapes. He’s upset that he got cut.’”