Chris Kluwe’s Meeting with Vikings Goes Poorly, Summary of Report to Be Released Tonight, Priefer to be Suspended, Kluwe to Sue
By Arif Hasan
Arif Hasan
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I'm guessing the Vikings continually file motions requiring a ton of lawyer hours then appeal everything they can at every level. Dude is gonna be broke or a free lawyer will go broke.
UI would surmise that Kluwe's suit won't survive a Motion to Dismiss. And here's why (note the date of the article):
"Kluwe, of course, isn't just drawing attention to himself and dedicating significant amounts of time to pursuits other than football. Wednesday, he admitted that he considers his advocacy for same-sex marriage more important than football. Kluwe: "The funny thing is if you look at that argument, the basic foundation of that argument, it's that, 'Why don't you worry more about a children's game than basic human rights?' And yeah, I'm going to generally go with the basic human rights on that issue."
The essence of his comment being that he understands that he might get cut for his off-the-field activities, but's that's fine with him because football is but "a children's game" compared to more serious matters. But now, here he is alleging that having been cut from an NFL team was so emotionally distressing and "wrongful" that he deserves punitive damages. The fact that the Vikings have not admitted to having cut him for those reasons makes his claims all the more difficult.
Keep in mind that the Vikings retained some high-priced labor law attorneys who took a look at everything and advised the Wilfs on how to go forward with this. As Arif said, "...the Vikings choosing not to agree to donating money means ... that the Vikings weren’t willing to settle at all." Which, of course, means their lawyers feel pretty confident going forward.
Anyone still doubt that the full report would vindicate Kluwe, or at least make Priefer and the Vikings look very bad?
Vikings opted not to settle, over a difference of:
-- $1M (demanded) vs $100K (offered), which is going to charity anyway
-- suspending Priefer for 4+ games (demanded) vs 1-2 games (reportedly this is what the Vikings are planning)
-- releasing the full report vs released a team-edited summary
Hard to believe that $900K means that much to a team recently valued at $1B whose owner supports marriage equality.
Hard to believe that getting Priefer back on the sideline in week 3 instead of week 5 is worth going to court for.
So that leaves the question of whether the public will get to see the full report. As reporter Mike Freeman put it:
@mikefreemanNFL: That Vikings report must resemble an episode of Game of Thrones.
Any football-related news today?
What's football?
Ha!
Sure looking forward to your training camp reports Arif!
I can't believe how badly the Vikings organization is handling this. Very disappointed. Part of growing up is developing a system of ethics. I will definitely become a former fan if they can't figure this out.
You will not be missed. ;P
I will miss him.
Whether you like Kluwe or not, you have to admit his tweets are quite petulant, pugnacious and arrogant. "Apparently the Vikings want to do this the hard way" ... "shit is about to get real." When has anyone heard, say, Tom Brady or Drew Brees or AP talk like that? Does he really think that sort of immature, unprofessional, abrasive talk is going to come off good with a judge or jury? Just tweet that things didn't work out and it's unfortunate things have come to this. Don't try to sound like some internet tough guy when a plaintiff's credibility is the capstone to every lawsuit.
Honestly, he acts so reflexively when he doesn't get exactly what he wants that he seemingly doesn't realize how his knee-jerk comments come off. It's like in childhood when there was always that one snotty kid that would warn everyone that if they didn't knock it off he'd tell his Mom. Coincidentally, that was always the kid that ended up getting his ass kicked.
Exactly my point
They said on KFAN that the suspension talk on Priefer could be false. The Vikings haven't reported anything. Only Kluwe is talking.
Well now the Vikings have reported and it is official, so how many of you will continue with your disbelief in Priefer's innocence. Not only did he lie but he lied to investigators twice until there was corroborating reports to the effect that he made those statements after all!
Sounds about like a coach the Vikings would hire.
Isn't nice we are a week away from camp and the only BIG Vikings news is Kluwe? Nice to have all draft picks singed and no big drama going on.
Has anyone not named Mike Priefer ever claimed that he didn't do *anything* wrong? Everything I've read has been a discussion of whether or not Kluwe's long list of claims is supported by the evidence (ie do Priefers alleged comments indicate that Kluwes claims about being blackballed are true?) No one knows what happened on that locker room, so we're forced to look at the facts that are currently known (not just the convenient facts that Kluwe and his lawyer give out either.) Kluwe has given teams every reason not to hire him, so I'm particularly interested to see how the "blackball" aspect of the case plays out.
Wait, new update: Kluwe makes light of child-rape? It may not be illegal, but neither are anti-gay comments (unless they occur within specific contexts, as Kluwe alleges.) However, it's completely f***** up. It looks like some of Kluwe's dirty laundry is going to be aired along with the rest. Perhaps he really thinks its worth it. Well, either that or he's calculated the cost and determined that he will still come out ahead. There may not be money in "activism" but there's plenty of money in being a pundit/commentator/writer/etc. If Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore can make a living on wide-eyed rants and unbridled savagery toward anyone who doesn't fall into line with their way of thinking, Kluwe should be able to scrape together a meager existence during his retirement years. I realize he didn't take money for the Deadspin article, but of course, a smart guy like Kluwe would understand how important it is that he NOT receive any immediate financial gain (otherwise his motives would be obviously selfish). Somehow I doubt that he'll ride off into the sunset after his latest crusade is over.
"Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore"
The perfect comparison! (If we could only get rid of both these ends of the spectrum, eh?)
Kudos AUTHAN.
This all could've been avoided if Priefer and Kluwe would've used some common sense. Fine Priefer and suspend him 2-3 games. Have him go talk it out to some overpaid counselor.
As for Kluwe...I agree with what XLevity said about him. I don't care for your talk, grow up, go away. About doing what's right? But it wasn't what was right while you still had a job? You're job was what was right!
View Comments
I'm guessing the Vikings continually file motions requiring a ton of lawyer hours then appeal everything they can at every level. Dude is gonna be broke or a free lawyer will go broke.
UI would surmise that Kluwe's suit won't survive a Motion to Dismiss. And here's why (note the date of the article):
"Kluwe, of course, isn't just drawing attention to himself and dedicating significant amounts of time to pursuits other than football. Wednesday, he admitted that he considers his advocacy for same-sex marriage more important than football. Kluwe: "The funny thing is if you look at that argument, the basic foundation of that argument, it's that, 'Why don't you worry more about a children's game than basic human rights?' And yeah, I'm going to generally go with the basic human rights on that issue."
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/48642/chris-kluwe-is-a-fortunate-nfl-employee
The essence of his comment being that he understands that he might get cut for his off-the-field activities, but's that's fine with him because football is but "a children's game" compared to more serious matters. But now, here he is alleging that having been cut from an NFL team was so emotionally distressing and "wrongful" that he deserves punitive damages. The fact that the Vikings have not admitted to having cut him for those reasons makes his claims all the more difficult.
Keep in mind that the Vikings retained some high-priced labor law attorneys who took a look at everything and advised the Wilfs on how to go forward with this. As Arif said, "...the Vikings choosing not to agree to donating money means ... that the Vikings weren’t willing to settle at all." Which, of course, means their lawyers feel pretty confident going forward.
Anyone still doubt that the full report would vindicate Kluwe, or at least make Priefer and the Vikings look very bad?
Vikings opted not to settle, over a difference of:
-- $1M (demanded) vs $100K (offered), which is going to charity anyway
-- suspending Priefer for 4+ games (demanded) vs 1-2 games (reportedly this is what the Vikings are planning)
-- releasing the full report vs released a team-edited summary
Hard to believe that $900K means that much to a team recently valued at $1B whose owner supports marriage equality.
Hard to believe that getting Priefer back on the sideline in week 3 instead of week 5 is worth going to court for.
So that leaves the question of whether the public will get to see the full report. As reporter Mike Freeman put it:
@mikefreemanNFL: That Vikings report must resemble an episode of Game of Thrones.
Any football-related news today?
What's football?
Ha!
Sure looking forward to your training camp reports Arif!
I can't believe how badly the Vikings organization is handling this. Very disappointed. Part of growing up is developing a system of ethics. I will definitely become a former fan if they can't figure this out.
You will not be missed. ;P
I will miss him.
Whether you like Kluwe or not, you have to admit his tweets are quite petulant, pugnacious and arrogant. "Apparently the Vikings want to do this the hard way" ... "shit is about to get real." When has anyone heard, say, Tom Brady or Drew Brees or AP talk like that? Does he really think that sort of immature, unprofessional, abrasive talk is going to come off good with a judge or jury? Just tweet that things didn't work out and it's unfortunate things have come to this. Don't try to sound like some internet tough guy when a plaintiff's credibility is the capstone to every lawsuit.
Honestly, he acts so reflexively when he doesn't get exactly what he wants that he seemingly doesn't realize how his knee-jerk comments come off. It's like in childhood when there was always that one snotty kid that would warn everyone that if they didn't knock it off he'd tell his Mom. Coincidentally, that was always the kid that ended up getting his ass kicked.
Exactly my point
They said on KFAN that the suspension talk on Priefer could be false. The Vikings haven't reported anything. Only Kluwe is talking.
Well now the Vikings have reported and it is official, so how many of you will continue with your disbelief in Priefer's innocence. Not only did he lie but he lied to investigators twice until there was corroborating reports to the effect that he made those statements after all!
Sounds about like a coach the Vikings would hire.
Isn't nice we are a week away from camp and the only BIG Vikings news is Kluwe? Nice to have all draft picks singed and no big drama going on.
Has anyone not named Mike Priefer ever claimed that he didn't do *anything* wrong? Everything I've read has been a discussion of whether or not Kluwe's long list of claims is supported by the evidence (ie do Priefers alleged comments indicate that Kluwes claims about being blackballed are true?) No one knows what happened on that locker room, so we're forced to look at the facts that are currently known (not just the convenient facts that Kluwe and his lawyer give out either.) Kluwe has given teams every reason not to hire him, so I'm particularly interested to see how the "blackball" aspect of the case plays out.
Wait, new update: Kluwe makes light of child-rape? It may not be illegal, but neither are anti-gay comments (unless they occur within specific contexts, as Kluwe alleges.) However, it's completely f***** up. It looks like some of Kluwe's dirty laundry is going to be aired along with the rest. Perhaps he really thinks its worth it. Well, either that or he's calculated the cost and determined that he will still come out ahead. There may not be money in "activism" but there's plenty of money in being a pundit/commentator/writer/etc. If Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore can make a living on wide-eyed rants and unbridled savagery toward anyone who doesn't fall into line with their way of thinking, Kluwe should be able to scrape together a meager existence during his retirement years. I realize he didn't take money for the Deadspin article, but of course, a smart guy like Kluwe would understand how important it is that he NOT receive any immediate financial gain (otherwise his motives would be obviously selfish). Somehow I doubt that he'll ride off into the sunset after his latest crusade is over.
"Rush Limbaugh and Michael Moore"
The perfect comparison! (If we could only get rid of both these ends of the spectrum, eh?)
Kudos AUTHAN.
This all could've been avoided if Priefer and Kluwe would've used some common sense. Fine Priefer and suspend him 2-3 games. Have him go talk it out to some overpaid counselor.
As for Kluwe...I agree with what XLevity said about him. I don't care for your talk, grow up, go away. About doing what's right? But it wasn't what was right while you still had a job? You're job was what was right!