Categories: 1.3 Opinion Off-The-Field Issues
| On 10 years ago

Chris Kluwe’s Latest Cause: “Blind Fanaticism”

By Adam Warwas

In case you didn’t notice, the Minnesota Vikings and ex-punter Chris Kluwe are engaged in an ugly public relations battle that will soon evolve to an even uglier legal battle. Kluwe threw the first punch with his hefty accusations published at Deadspin back in January.

It took a while, but the Vikings organization has circled the wagons, and now thrown a few jabs back at Kluwe. Their summary of the investigation findings was released last night and then Chris Kluwe proceeded to, quite frankly, punch himself in the face on Twitter a few times last night.

The Vikings still contend that Chris Kluwe was not fired from his job for his activism, but rather released from his contract for football reasons, and I believe them (always have thought that, if you’ve been here for a while). Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer has also finally stopped lying and apologized for making inappropriate comments and the Vikings are reprimanding him with a suspension. Rick Spielman and Leslie Frazier seem to be non-issues, essentially, despite the title of Kluwe’s initial article.

In many cases like this there are never any clear winners, just losers, outside of the legal team being paid to play prevent defense within the confines of the judicial system. This is a high profile case, however, so you can probably put “media outlets” right up there with the lawyers when it comes to people that stand to benefit from this mess.

Now comes the mud, however.

In an obvious attempt to attack Kluwe’s character the Vikings have included in their release a tidbit that turned into a social media bombshell. They say that Kluwe made light of the Penn State molestation situation in a lewd and offensive manner, and he admits that he did.

He also attempted to threaten the organization by claiming to have knowledge of a situation involving two well-known Vikings players being caught in a compromising situation with an underage girl. That admission backfired a bit, as people immediately wondered why Kluwe has again sat on his hands and done nothing with this information about his former employers.

This morning, before leaving for a long Saturday (yes, Saturday, dang it) of work at my real job, I read a number of articles from fine writers questioning Kluwe’s intent.  Some were more harsh than others.

One of those articles came from Gregg Doyel at CBS Sports, and this evening Kluwe felt compelled to respond to Mr. Doyel, who called Kluwe out as being disgusting and hypocritical. You can read the whole thing here, but I want to focus on something Kluwe has said a few times over the past 24 hours, and said it again in his response to Doyel.

If it comes to speaking truth to power, standing up to blind fanaticism, that’s what I’m going to do.

This is the type of well-planned rhetoric that I have grown accustomed to in all things Kluwe. The guy is a wordsmith and a talented one. Still, I’m calling bulls*** on this one, and his other versions of the same sentiment, and feel like it is an attack on myself and many other Vikings fans.

I used to think this case that Kluwe had against Priefer and the Vikings was bigger than football. That is what was annoying about it as a hack football blogger, to be honest, because it wasn’t an X’s and O’s type of storyline, but it was important enough that it couldn’t be ignored. Regardless of how your politics are oriented, social justice is something we can’t simply ignore in favor of a sporting event or else we all lose, plain and simple.

Still, Kluwe’s decision to bring this back down to the level of football fandom and attack those that have “sided” with his “opponents” smells of desperation and is an insult to a fanbase that once showed him plenty of love.

Having covered the Vikings for quite a while now I can tell you that a majority of fans do not blindly support the Vikings organization. I’ve seen them criticize the organization for plenty, and I’m not just talking about on the field productivity.

I’ve seen fans call for the Wilf family to be run out of town for their demand for public funds. I’ve seen fans point to the arrests up and down rosters of Vikings past and demand change. I’ve seen fans upset over the release of a player on Christmas, over the team’s support of a player that allegedly choked his girlfriend, and over the lewd conduct of the players on that boat.

I’ve seen fans declare their fandom to be finished over how the organization treated specific players, with Antoine Winfield being the most recent example that comes to mind.

Chris Kluwe needs to understand that fans, myself included, are individuals that are capable of deciding things for ourselves. Many, albeit not all, are even intelligent enough to make coherent and intelligent decisions (or assumptions, as he might call them) about a subject being presented. We are even able to put our excitement over Vikings football to the side in order to form our opinions, whether he believes it or not.

I’m not saying Kluwe isn’t on the other end of some unfair and uninformed venom, especially considering he chooses to be plugged into social media as a public figure, I’m sure he sees more than his fair share of it. Conversely, he and the equality movement also have blind followers that will defend and attack on cue without considering the opposing viewpoint.

However, some of his own assumptions are way off base, starting with the one where he thinks any Vikings fan that disagrees with his approach to these issues are simply blind followers of some colors on a jersey.

At the other end of a disagreement is not always a blind follower of a football team, or a religion, or a political platform. At the other end of those arguments are often someone who just flat out thinks he is wrong, or thinks he is partially wrong, or is maybe even still trying to sort this mess out in their mind and has their doubts.

What Mike Priefer did was wrong and that has been admitted. I’ve never agreed with Kluwe’s reasoning for why he thinks he was released, but I’ve never questioned his integrity, until last night’s Twitter rant. I still don’t think Kluwe was wronged when he was released, but now I’m wondering about his character as a person willing to harass a coach about their affiliation to an organization facing the worst kind of scandal and also his willingness to sit idle while the Vikings allegedly sweep their own scandal under the rug.

Mike Priefer needs to be accountable for what he did. Now, however, Chris Kluwe has some explaining to do. According to Kluwe’s Twitter account, we will have to wait until he’s in court to get that explanation, because that way it will be “more fun.”

Call it blind faith in a football team if you want to be that ignorant about it, but I’m starting to have some serious doubts about the punter who thinks he can do no wrong and his willingness to belittle the rest of us.

Out of fairness to Kluwe, I offered him a chance to respond to this article before I posted it, and here is what he had to say:

So you know, that reference was to Penn State, not to people who support the Vikings. That’s your assumption to make, not what I stated. My issue is with people who blindly support something no matter what evidence comes out (i.e. Penn State), and something you may want to consider is that the Vikings released a version of the report they carefully combed for what they wanted to present, not the entire thing. If you’re truly for informed conversation, the Vikings releasing the full report will allow us to have that. What they currently put out? Nothing more than the opening salvo from a company getting ready for a protracted legal battle.
Ask yourself this. In a 29 page summary of a 150 page report with 1600 pages of footnotes and sources, why were only 3 pages devoted to the actual subject of the report, and 26 devoted to the person who raised the complaint.
Just something to think about.

Adam Warwas

Adam Warwas (Founder) has been writing about the Vikings for a total of eight years. Five of those years have been here at Vikings Territory where he continues to surround himself with enough talented individuals that people keep coming back. As proud as he is of what Vikings Territory has become, his real treasures are in his home... a beautiful wife and three amazing children (and a dog named Percy).

Tags: antoine winfield chris kluwe mike priefer

View Comments

  • Thanks for the great article. Honestly, that's my biggest problem with Kluwe and some (not all) of his supporters; they demonize and attempt to marginalize anyone who dares to disagree with them. I'll call it like I see it, even of that means putting blame on the Vikings. Sadly, it's getting harder and harder to respect a guy whose jersey I once paid good money to get (this was about 2007, after he had mentioned that no one cares about punters.) The whole situation is unfortunate, but Kluwe's conduct has shredded whatever amount of good will I still had for him. I guess we'll see how it all plays out.

  • I just got home a bit ago from working on a Saturday myself. Blows.

    I bet Kluwe corrected you on "choses," right?

    Anywho, regarding the "If it comes to speaking truth to power, standing up to blind fanaticism, that’s what I’m going to do" thing, did he ever mention Vikings fans by name? Honestly, I haven't read everything that's going on, so it's not a leading question, just a question.

  • Kluwe's Deadspin article carefully presented only information that made him look like a victim and the Vikings as being in the wrong. Then he complains that the Vikings report points out his hypocrisy. Then he threatens to sue the Vikings and complains that they seem to be preparing for a legal battle? No wonder he thinks he was cut due his activism/grandstanding. He doesn't seem to have a very tight grip on reality or a very clear understanding of his own faults.

    • What exactly did you think he would write in his deadspin article? The entire thing was about how he saw himself treated. On the other hand the Vikings released a "summary" of an investigative report that was 29 pages yet a small portion of it actually dealt with the report.

      For that matter he isn't complaining they are preparing for a legal battle he is just stating that is the reason for the extremely one sided report that spent the majority of the pages trying to tackle his credibility.

  • I'm not a twitter guy, so I pretty much never follow anything to do with it. After taking a quick stroll through Kluwe's, this exchange is interesting:

    Scourge
    ‏@Jon_F_Smith
    @ChrisWarcraft Not that i think the Vikings fired u for that,you just sucked. I wish u had a career ending injury that left u a paraplegic.

    Chris Kluwe ‏@ChrisWarcraft Jul 15
    . @Jon_F_Smith I would have gone with "left u a filthy bedpan licking camel shart," but that's just me.

  • Thanks for the article Adam,it pretty much sums up my feelings on this whole affair.Kluwe got cut because of football reasons and he can't accept it.The one comment I will add is that the longer this goes on the less respect I have for Kluwe.If he has information of players doing wrong with an underage girl then he needs to speak up,otherwise he is just as culpable as the perpetrators.

    • I feel like I "get" Kluwe. I know I'm probably in the minority in this respect, but I do. What some see as offensive comments, I see as high-end trolling. Easy for me, as I agree with most of his politics.

      HOWEVER, I have to admit, the underage girl thing gives me serious pause. Not saying anything until much later on an unrelated issue is not cool.

      SECOND HOWEVER, the way he brings it up, as a threat, makes me think he did bring it up to Vikes management, and it also was swept under the rug.

      It pretty much has to be one or the other, I'm curious to know which.

      • I suspect there is more to the Deadspin article about T-Jack and Rice and the girl than we are led to believe, otherwise Kluwe would have hopefully been smart enough to keep that one holstered.

        An insensitive boss is the type of thing you bring up to H.R., Tomb. But a person of integrity wouldn't bring up a criminal offense involving underage girls to management, or at least not ONLY management... if he knows something he should have brought it to the police.

        • For some damn reason, I don't remember the initial story at all. I tried to track down the initial Deadspin article you referred to, but it appears its been removed.

          ...and yeah, you're right, it should have been something authorities were made aware of.

          I'm baffled by this one. I need more deetz.

      • Yeah I am not sure how he can spin the underage girl thing. If he witnessed something and didn't report he is just as guilty as the guys involved.

  • Context is important as well. It's not enough to determine whether specific words were uttered; you also have to determine the intent, the setting in which they were spoken, the way they were received, etc. That's why this case will only become more convoluted once it goes to trial. It's probably going to get even uglier before we see any real resolution. C'est la vie.

  • Kluwe must feel his life is over. It is not; just the football side. Kluwe came in to the NFL with a big leg and a lot of potential. But Kluwe was never willing to work on his craft to the extent it would take for him to realize his potential. The man could have been a top punter in the league for a generation. But he has always been the man with potential and inconsistency became his middle name. In game's against the Bear's he was told to kick the ball out of bounds so Hester could not return them. He failed. It was suggested in print & on TV that he receive tutelage from Greg Coleman. Nothing came of it as the inconsistency in his ability to do his job proficiently. The man could have been more than an asset; he could have been a weapon sticking teams inside their own 10. He showed flashes of greatness in doing this. But he would kick to Hester, he would out kick the coverage, he'd kick the ball to the wrong side of the field. And of course too often the ball began to go in the end zone for a touch back. An independent evaluator looked at the 2012 game tape's and said he would have released Kluwe at the end of the 2012 season. A punter in decline who'sppotential was never realized. A man who took his job so lightly he goofed around to the point of upsetting his coach in to derogatory language during practice when he should have been work on his craft. Instead of realizing he could have been better and that he shortened his own football career. He did what many people do. Latch on to an unrelated reason & blame someone else. Kluwe is not really interested in money. I don't believe he will settle. His objective is to get his coach fired & embarrass the Vikings Organization. He has absolutely no interest in changing the locker room environment. This is pure vindictiveness. And the sports writers who has writing about this are just adding fuel to the fire. I guess it's a popular thing to do....... Biting the hand that feed's you.

  • I'd like to be objective about this, and when so many people lean one way I at least try to think the other way to be sure the debate is fairly judged. But there was an excellent point, here and elsewhere, and it has to do with his 'bomb dropping'. He is really sinking his own ship talking about serious matters this way as though he wasn't going to come forward about these kinds of things if the Vikings had just.. Made him feel better about how he handled his unique position as a public figure by settling with him? He was creating controversy, how can you expect there to be no vitriol? But to espouse the whistle blower stance after trying to salvage your career elsewhere, your priorities only changed when your career ran out. Yes you were vocal on controversial subjects, but now you're admitting to being a part of the very culture you're attempting to expose. You were part of this same culture by hiding what went on, saying things that were dispassionate.. You heard everything on special teams! Yet until now, after the investigation you inspired didn't leave a big enough dent, you've been silent about other problems you've had knowledge of. Why didn't you just write a book!? It would have been so much cleaner!

  • Reasonable for people to limit the basic human rights of others because they are different? Right to work, healthcare, marriage and freedom from persecution. I don't think people against that because they are uncomfortable with difference are reasonable. Separate but equal is the side of history you are standing on. It is wrong. It is not reasonable. Trying to reframe it doesn't work for reasonable people today or in the 1950s/60s.

    • I guess I agree with what you said more or less vike 44, I don't know who it's aimed at though. Kluwe wasn't even cut until after we tried out a new punter. The cost savings made sense, the guy didn't get another job. Besides all of that, he's been insensitive and derogatory himself. I just don't see how agenda is a valid arguement. You can't persecute someone for their religious belief system. If it wasn't for that fact we wouldn't even get the chance to counter with rationale, our culture would be controlled by rehashed versions of a thousands year old creed based upon posthumous word of mouth telling of the life of Jesus. It's definitely a worthwhile book, almost any of the thousand reworked versions can offer excellent life lessons. But plainly, you eventually have to accept that no matter how far our culture leans towards acceptance of those who are 'different' eventually we also have to accept those who won't. They too are allowed the same freedoms. The law also does what it was built to do, and protects people from being condemned for following a doctrine.

      • Everyone gets to think what they think. You don't get to use hate speech at work. That is what Priefer got punished for - not the punter thing. Kluwe just put it out there. My point is not to change minds of angry guys who hate gay and lesbian people. That ship has sailed. Just don't give intolerant people the power to interfere with anyones right to live their life at home or at work.

        • Ok.. But did he interfere? At what point did what Priefer was saying go from being part of the culture, and one persons opinion shared amongst cohorts to being blasphemy and at what point did it become targeted at Kluwes job? Because its hard to say that ever happened before Kluwe targeted Priefer and his job. Kluwe thought he'd get fired because his performance wasn't making up for his outspoken behavior. If he'd been an All-Pro the team would have signed him to an extension. That's how these things work. I agree with your blanket statements but this doesn't feel like a legitimate demonstration of those principles being broken. Every time someone says something vain doesn't mean they are going to go the next step and get rid of you.