Fasten Your Seatbelt for Bizarre Dalvin Cook Controversy
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings news cycle was rocked on Tuesday evening when ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted about an incident of alleged domestic abuse and extortion perpetrated against running back Dalvin Cook in November of 2020.
The tweet marinated for a couple of hours, seemingly unchecked and leaving folks to speculate what might’ve transpired between Cook and the other party.
Soon after, this description from Cook’s attorney communicated the player’s side of the story — and it felt like a response to something, but it was unclear as to what.
Well, the other shoe dropped around the same time from Star Tribune, explaining the woman’s perspective. The plot thickened — immensely.
This reporting from the Star Tribune directly contradicted the Cook camp, revealing Cook as the alleged aggressor.
Around 9:30pm CST, pictures of the woman, Gracelyn Trimble, were tweeted by the Star Tribune reporter, Rochelle Olson, and photos are generally game-changers. These are no different.
In the same timeframe that the photos of Trimble hit the media, a video was released, too. But this bit of evidence claimed Cook was not the aggressor, instead held at gunpoint by Trimble. The video is a means for audio as the visual components are next to useless.
In the middle of the article’s release and the subsequent photo and video publication, the Vikings opined:
In response to the budding controversy, the NFL released this statement: “The Vikings notified the league of the matter. We will decline further comment at this time.”
Finally (for now), this exchange was documented inside Olson’s Star Tribune article, which amateur internet sleuths claim could be fake:
That is the timeline of events as of Tuesday evening. And it would be irresponsible for VikingsTerritory to theorize anything further about the merits of the case.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).