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I Was An NFL Player Until I Was Fired By Two Cowards And A Bigot
Deadspin ^ | Jan 2, 2014 | Chris Kluwe

Posted on 01/02/2014 12:13:32 PM PST by C19fan

Hello. My name is Chris Kluwe, and for eight years I was the punter for the Minnesota Vikings. In May 2013, the Vikings released me from the team. At the time, quite a few people asked me if I thought it was because of my recent activism for same-sex marriage rights, and I was very careful in how I answered the question. My answer, verbatim, was always, "I honestly don't know, because I'm not in those meetings with the coaches and administrative people."

This is a true answer. I honestly don't know if my activism was the reason I got fired.

However, I'm pretty confident it was.

Allow myself to tell you a story about ... myself. The following is a record of what happened to me during my 2012 season with the Minnesota Vikings, written down immediately after the 2013 draft in April, when I realized what was happening, and revised recently only for clarity. I tried to keep things as objective as possible, and anything you see in quotes are words that I directly recall being said to me.

This is a story about how actions have consequences, no matter how just or moral you think your cause happens to be, and it's a story about the price people all too often pay for speaking out.

(Excerpt) Read more at deadspin.com ...


TOPICS: Sports
KEYWORDS: football; gay; homosexualagenda; minnesota; nfl; pansytrollsonboard; vikings
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To: Alex Murphy

I bet he was putting on his jack-boots and joining the fascists


41 posted on 01/02/2014 1:07:13 PM PST by GeronL (Extra Large Cheesy Over-Stuffed Hobbit)
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To: VeniVidiVici

“Obvious to me he was fired for being a PITA. He felt the need to comment on everthing. It’s no wonder no other team wants him.”

In his head all of this simply becomes “proof” that he is a Good Man.


42 posted on 01/02/2014 1:10:53 PM PST by TalBlack (Evil doesn't have a day job.)
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To: C19fan

Chris Kluwe, you aren’t an Aaron Rogers type player. Hell, you aren’t at the same level as Josh Freeman, so STFU.


43 posted on 01/02/2014 1:11:00 PM PST by ExCTCitizen (2014 the year of dead RINOs)
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To: C19fan
This is a true answer. I honestly don't know if my activism was the reason I got fired.

So far, so good.



However, I'm pretty confident it was.

Uh, no. You just got finished admitting you didn't know, so how can you have any degree of confidence at all that you do know? The bottom line here is that a person of your age and experience demands too much money. The Vikings chose to save money by going with a rookie instead.

As for the Raiders, the reason they cut you is because you are white. They decided to go with a black punter instead to show everyone how diverse they were.

44 posted on 01/02/2014 1:15:10 PM PST by Hoodat (Democrats - Opposing Equal Protection since 1828)
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To: C19fan
Well, Mr. Kluwe left out a few things. He was a middle of the pack, inconsistent, punter entering the last year of his contract to make $1.45 million. Cutting him did not count against the Vike's cap. So, it was mainly a salary dump.

They did the same thing the year before with their kicker, who didn't have a big mouth.

45 posted on 01/02/2014 1:15:41 PM PST by colorado tanker
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To: C19fan
At the time, quite a few people asked me if I thought it was because of my recent activism for same-sex marriage rights...

I guess it all boils down to a simple question.

Would you want an advocate for same-sex marriage rights in your backfield?

46 posted on 01/02/2014 1:17:57 PM PST by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: FAA; nascarnation
He was a middle-of-the-pack punter in 2012. Some better, some worse.

Based on his veteran salary requirements and his being a distraction to the team, that makes him a marginal player. Finding a new "average" punter is not difficult, and is a very good reason for an average punter to keep a low profile.

This guy is a worthless backstabber. He has no reason to believe anything but the simple explanation: he said controversial things on a number of issues, not just gay marriage and was asked by his boss not to do it. He was warned about it various ways, and clearly has a higher opinion of his abilities than his actual talent would warrant.

In the current homophobia-witch-hunt climate he's trying to hurt his ex-boss's career just as he embarks on a new job search.

This article is nothing more than vindictive payback, supposedly being done in the name of "courage," but in fact being done for no reason than to harm other human beings.

47 posted on 01/02/2014 1:18:41 PM PST by FredZarguna (Das is nicht richtig nur falsch. Das ist nicht einmal falsch.)
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To: C19fan

Just another example of how liberals believe free speech is only for them and those who agree with them. Those who disagree are supposed to keep their mouths shut.


48 posted on 01/02/2014 1:18:49 PM PST by jeffc (The U.S. media are our enemy)
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To: onyx
Apparently, the owner of the team, Zygi Wilf, didn’t go to bat for him.

At the time, Wilf was trying to extort a billion-dollar stadium out of the taxpayers of Minnesota (he succeeded). He correctly realized that polarizing half his fanbase against his corporate gift drive (we called it 'Wilfare' here) was a bad idea.

Kluwe was kryptonite then. Now he's just a bigmouth.

49 posted on 01/02/2014 1:19:02 PM PST by Colonel_Flagg (Some people meet their heroes. I raised mine. Go Army.)
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To: armydawg505
homosexual men have a life expectancy 20-25 years shorter than straight, monogamous men.

Amen.

The problem is, that actually would be courageous, so he isn't going to say those things.

50 posted on 01/02/2014 1:20:38 PM PST by FredZarguna (Das is nicht richtig nur falsch. Das ist nicht einmal falsch.)
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To: C19fan

“Allow myself to tell you a story about ... myself.”

Textbook case of Pout-Dramatic Stress Syndrome!


51 posted on 01/02/2014 1:27:32 PM PST by mrsmith (Dumb sluts: Lifeblood of the Media, Backbone of the Democrat Party!)
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To: C19fan

I hate when I have a job where one of my co-workers is “this” guy.


52 posted on 01/02/2014 1:32:04 PM PST by Psycho_Bunny (Thought Puzzle: Describe Islam without using the phrase "mental disorder" more than four times.)
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To: C19fan

Blah, blah, blah! If he was good he would have kept his spot. Look at all the sissy cry-babies that still have their jobs. He would have been picked up by another team if he was worth it.


53 posted on 01/02/2014 1:37:56 PM PST by vpintheak (Thankful to be God blessed & chosen!)
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To: C19fan

I don’t watch the Vikings but I know a couple of Vikings fans and they said Kluwe was bad.

In the NFL it is all about performance, if a player or coach can’t get the job done, then they are quickly gone. Especially a punter since kickers are a dime a dozen.

Kluwe is going to play the gay card, or the same sex marriage card or whatever card but the bottom line is that if he was the second coming of Ray Guy, the Vikings would have kept him, IMHO.


54 posted on 01/02/2014 1:45:05 PM PST by Ticonderoga34
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To: lee martell
"He was warned. Yes, you can speak up about causes, but on a topic as sensitive as this one, why risk your career?"

In most of the cities where the majority of the votes are the subjects of the second amendment and gun control are more controversial than the gay marriage issue.

Are you telling all of us to keep our mouths shut in support of gun rights if it may harm our careers? If a person has strong feelings about their rights should we all just shut up unless it is in situations that you or those you work for approve of?

No one will make that decision for me. I'm not gay and do not know this guy and have never seen him play. BUT, I spent a lot of years in the military supporting the first and second amendments equally. He spoke up in a responsible manner and not in any way did he say or insinuate that he represented his team in his beliefs.

Would you appreciate being let go if someone above you on the food chain didn't like guns or gun rights and was angry because you spoke out as a private citizen and on your own time in favor of gun rights?

55 posted on 01/02/2014 1:51:32 PM PST by oldenuff2no
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To: nascarnation
(tight end/H-back/spec teams) was on 7 pro rosters in 4 years

my kind of diversity

56 posted on 01/02/2014 1:54:09 PM PST by showme_the_Glory (ILLEGAL: prohibited by law. ALIEN: Owing political allegiance to another country or government)
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To: C19fan

The real injustice is that anyone would call this wuss a football player.


57 posted on 01/02/2014 1:54:53 PM PST by MNnice
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To: C19fan

There is no such thing as same sex marriage. They can call it what they please, but, it is not a marriage.


58 posted on 01/02/2014 1:55:56 PM PST by sport
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To: C19fan

If he was a veteran player, it was probably a combination of salary, and where his presence in the lockeroom affected team morale. Good punters are pretty easy to come by.


59 posted on 01/02/2014 1:58:53 PM PST by Vermont Lt (If you want to keep your dignity, you can keep it. Period........ Just kidding, you can't keep it.)
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To: C19fan

Homos are spring loaded to the outrageously outraged position. It’s an exercise in projecting their own self loathing. Another frikkin’ drama queen.


60 posted on 01/02/2014 1:59:31 PM PST by TADSLOS (The Event Horizon has come and gone. Buckle up and hang on.)
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