Kluwe rips Frazier, Spielman, Priefer

[The Breeze]

... and I agree with him.
Neither can Chris Kluwe. I just don't believe in replacing one social injustice (bigotry) with another (the assumption of guilt based on nothing more than accusation).

IF Kluwe has successfully exposed a bigoted coach who deserves to held accountable for his behavior then good for Kluwe. I'd just prefer to withhold judgment on whether that's what has happened until there's enough information to actually make that determination.
That playoff run ended almost a year ago and months before he was released from the team. He could have gone to ownership, the NFL, a reputable journalist, etc. at any time during those months or at any time in the past year. Instead, he wrote an attack piece for Deadspin and threw Frazier and Spielman under the bus he was steering at Priefer.

I get your take, Jim. I don't disagree either.
I just think it looks as though Kluwe is making sure of a few things with the tools he has ...and that I get it.
I don't think he's lying about this a year later.

[tmscr]

I'm laughing at the people who have already taken Kluwe's statements as absolute FACT. Not calling him a liar, but, wow, can we wait until the whole story comes out before labeling someone a homophobe???? Sheesh!

[Just Me]

Suppose you witness a crime and the only evidence you have is your word against the culprit. Like a harassment case with a boss.

With no actual physical evidence to support the crime......what do you do?

You interview the people involved (including any witnesses) to determine the veracity of their statements. There is a reason investigators do not conduct interviews/interrogations over the phone. 80% of communication is non-verbal. I was/am pretty good at detecting deception when questioning someone. I know of no one who is good at determining the accuracy of allegations based solely on the statement(s) alone. In this case Priefer allegedly made the statements in front of others. You simply find out who the other witnesses were and interview them as well. Whomever is lying, you focus on the inconsistencies in their recollection of events and eventually, they talk themselves into a corner.

I suspect Kluwe is being truthful here. There is very little for him to gain, and much for him to lose by making these comments. Nonetheless, unless I could sit across the table from both he and Priefer, I wouldn't form a solid opinion on the matter.

[dead_poet]

There are two sides to every story. I think Chris Kluwe is still feeling salty because he got cut. I think he got cut mainly due to his performance and the media attention just added fuel to the fire. Had be been kicking like Jeff Locke last year, they probably wouldn't care what he said as long as he was performing well.

According to @PFF, Locke was the 2nd worst punter with a grade of -10.6. He finished 18th in NFL in Net punt ave. Last season, Chris Kluwe finished 17th.

It's not like Frazier and Spielman told him that his views are wrong. They just told him the way he was going about it was not professional, and it wasn't.

How was it unprofessional? What would've been the professional way to express his views? Quietly to a couple of teammates instead of a national platform?

Kluwe is like a spoiled little kid who talks back to his parents when they don't agree with him, and tries to justify how they are being bad parents because of it.

I don't mind when a kid speaks out, provided he or she can provide a logical argument why the rules are wrong. Frankly, I'd encourage it. Better than staying silent.

He failed to realize that as a football player, everything he says to the media will affect the team. There are ways to go about things without being loud about it.

I'm pretty sure he realized that. He just felt that speaking out was more important than a game to the 53 players and coaches, admin, etc.

As for Mike Priefer, I don't know if he truly felt that way, or he was just speaking out of frustration to get Kluwe just to STFU for once.

Possible.

The only bigot here is Chris Kluwe. He's loud and obnoxious.

You do know that the definition of bigot is not "loud and obnoxious", right? I'm not sure how Kluwe is a bigot, but OK.

He actually has the nerve to think he was cut soley based on his views and not the piss poor punting averages last year.

I don't think he's naive enough to believe that was the SOLE reason he was cut. He even said he was and had been in the middle to upper-third in the league.

I'm glad he's gone. Locke is a better punter than he ever was anyway.

As of now, that's really not true.

[The Breeze]

I

You interview the people involved (including any witnesses) to determine the veracity of their statements. There is a reason investigators do not conduct interviews/interrogations over the phone. 80% of communication is non-verbal. I was/am pretty good at detecting deception when questioning someone. I know of no one who is good at determining the accuracy of allegations based solely on the statement(s) alone. In this case Priefer allegedly made the statements in front of others. You simply find out who the other witnesses were and interview them as well. Whomever is lying, you focus on the inconsistencies in their recollection of events and eventually, they talk themselves into a corner.

I suspect Kluwe is being truthful here. There is very little for him to gain, and much for him to lose by making these comments. Nonetheless, unless I could sit across the table from both he and Priefer, I wouldn't form a solid opinion on the matter.

I realize that Kluwe has referred to other witnesses.....but my question was regarding a scenario where you knew someone had committed a crime because you were there but could not prove it....would you even say anything?

What if no one comes forward even though it happened exactly the way Kluwe says it did?

What if you had a resource like Kluwe does? Would you just say nothing?

If no one comes forward nothing will be proven one way or the other...nonetheless if it's all true justice will have been served to some extent.

I'm suggesting a reason for why Kluwe is exposing it all this way.

[tmscr]

This.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand with this story pretty much legit now, the Vikings are definitely going to be under investigation.

Yeah, it's far too easy to make slanderous accusations these days, and alot of times, there are very few repercussions if found to be untrue. Well I read it on the internet, it HAS to be true!

[King James]

@Dead_Poet Kluwe is a bigot because he think his view on gay rights is great but anyone who is against it is a bad person. It's clear that some people on the team probably don't care for gay activism. Homosexuality will always be a controversial topic which is why many companies and organisations don't even address it.

[Demi]

Here we go with the lashing out again. Damn Deadspin always reporting stories fans don't want to believe!

Let's all just put our fingers in our ears and yell LALALALA until it goes away guys!

What a pathetic organization from the criminal new jersey business scum bag down through the ranks to the freaking special teams coach!

[IrishViking]

My gut says that Kluwe isn't lying. Pretty big risk to completely ostracizes yourself form the sport of football just to get back at someone. The only reason you do this is either A) you feel that strongly, right or wrong, and need to get it out or B) You feel that an investigation will vindicate you. Assuming for a second it is true I am shocked at Mike Priefer; not about what he believes, its disgusting to me but whatever, each his own. But the sheer stupidity that you think you can throw that sort of talk and language around when it flies DIRECTLY in the face of your extremely powerful bosses opinions and you are working in a state that has taken large steps in the last several months (at the time of the alleged comments) to move towards equality. A person with half a brain would know, if someone narcs on you , you are up #### creek without a paddle. IF IF IF its true ( don't want to hang him early) his bosses will want him gone and popular opinion (in this state at least) will be against him. Back to my original point I simply don't want someone that STUPID coaching our team. As someone else pointed out, what has he done besides fix walsh's small pulling issue? Its not like you really teach A returner vision. The only thing I have noticed is how rarely we get long returns called back on penalties. Far from a guru that is worth keeping if THIS IS TRUE. IMO

[tmscr]

Here we go with the lashing out again. Damn Deadspin always reporting stories fans don't want to believe!

Let's all just put our fingers in our ears and yell LALALALA until it goes away guys!

What a pathetic organization from the criminal new jersey business scum bag down through the ranks to the freaking special teams coach!

You'll look mighty foolish if his accusations turn out to be unfounded.

[PurpleMustReign]

Lol at this story. Even if it is true, why would Kluwe wait to tell it? Why not tell it when he was cut?

I'm glad he isn't on the team anymore.

[HornedMessiah]

Lol at this story. Even if it is true, why would Kluwe wait to tell it? Why not tell it when he was cut?

Maybe because he has a book to sell and he wants to keep his name in the media.

[saint33]

1) It helps support Kluwe's credibility and reduces the thought that he is being 'vindictive' (as opposed to just accurate)
2) Indirectly, you are suggesting the end justifies the means.

To me, it's pretty obvious Kluwe has an agenda and he's handling the situation in the way he thinks will accomplish that agenda. He is an activist and someone who believes in social change and is not afraid of making "bold" decisions to stand up for what he believes is the right thing. He is also a very intelligent person who understands the ramifications of his actions. If he were to go the Wilfs with the issue, it likely would have been dealt with outside of the public's eye. The Wilf's would not want the negative publicity this type of story will bring, and thus they would quietly fire Priefer with their reasons for it staying hush, hush. Same thing would likely happen if he goes to the league with this information. And seeking legal action puts Kluwe's true intentions at question, as many will instantly wonder whether Kluwe really cares or if he's just in it for a free bonus after his career is over. What he wants is the media and the public to be aware of this, because it brings attention to his cause and what he believes in. Which is another reason I would have a hard time believing this is story if fabricated, because he has nothing to gain by creating a story and it will bring negative light to the cause he's fighting for if exposed as lies.

So yes, I guess you could say that is what I'm saying, or at least what Kluwe believes. Some might say it's not the professional or proper way to go about it, as most would believe in a professional level of discretion in dealing with matter's such as these. But that is not who Chris Kluwe is.

[dead_poet]

Lol at this story. Even if it is true, why would Kluwe wait to tell it? Why not tell it when he was cut?

Because he still wanted a kicking job elsewhere and bringing it up after he was cut would have greatly affected his opportunity to kick in the NFL.

[J. Kapp 11]

One of the comments at the bottom of the article sums up my opinion on this very accurately and succinctly ...

I kind of feel like Chris Kluwe's "activism" stopped being about the actual cause and started being more about Chris Kluwe a little bit ago.

I could be very wrong about this, and I've been an outspoken critic of Kluwe's antics, but Chris Kluwe seems to be more interested in promoting himself than he is about promoting gay rights. I believe, as I always have, that Chris Kluwe is all about self-promotion in everything he does.

And the idea that his performance wasn't diminishing ... the Oakland Raiders cut him after the Vikings did. Are we to believe there was some kind of conspiracy in place here? Please.

Assuming everything he says about Priefer is true (I'd sure love some corroboration, but I'll give it to him), it makes Priefer a POS, no doubt. But it still doesn't mean that Kluwe deserves a job in the NFL.

This screams of a guy trying desperately to remain relevant. I'm not saying it's untrue. But I'm saying that his non-stop penchant for self-promotion hurts his credibility. Call me a doubter that it's 100% true.