Sorry Chris Kluwe fans, he's playing us and is a hypocrite.

[MyUncle]

Chris Kluwe calls out the coaches of the Vikings and says that they are cowards for

#1 not standing up for what was right or
#2 because they were afraid that if they did the right thing, their careers would be in jeopardy.

I'll give Chris credit for taking a stance while he was a player. His statements and Comic Con lifestyle created buzz, was covered by many media outlets and made him the most covered punter in the NFL. His high profile lead to massive media attention including gigs writing for multiple media outlets including Sports Illustrated.

After the Vikings, Chris was cut by the Oakland Raiders this Fall. He lost his job to a young, black punter with a stronger leg and was significantly less money. Chris went through the year, hoping to get back in to the NFL as a punter while keeping up his media profile.

By the end of the year it became obvious that he was done - he's old (by NFL standards), expensive, marginally productive and ...yes ...controversial.

So he calls Viking coach Leslie Frazier and GM Rick Spielman cowards because they wanted to lay low to presumably to protect their employment. But he only decides to write the article (which he acknowledges with kill any chance of a career) AFTER he and the entire football world comes to the conclusion that he will never play in the NFL again anyway.

Therefore, he has nothing else to lose and he has no employment to jeopardize. By writing this well timed, post season, playoffs atmosphere, NFL withdrawal period article his "courage", celebrity and media desirability will be enhanced more than any other NFL player's calculated, post career spin campaign.

He will get praises for the article, but how do you not see the hypocrisy?

This smells like a very calculated self promotion.

[HERVEPA]

1. You clearly know nothing about the man.

Read what he wrote. Do you care that his special teams coach is a bigot and homophobe who thinks gays should be nuked.

[William769]

2. You forgot about the third one the bigot. It's two cowards and a bigot.

Chris has more integrity in his pinky than those three bodies combined.

[Vashta Nerada]

3. Wow. Really?

Did I just read this?



He pointed out how coaches don't care about LGBT issues in the NFL. Did you read the article? Did you read what Mike Priefer said about gay people? It made me sick.

The NFL is a toxic environment and I'm glad Chris Kluwe pointed that out.

[JVS]

4. Writing an article denouncing the Vikings while being in contract to the Raiders would be...

incredibly bad form.
Professional athletes are strongly discouraged from that kind of thing. This is the first appropriate time to write this stuff, not an attempt to self-promote.

[fishwax]

5. I don't see the hypocrisy. Also, why is the Raider punter's race relevant here?

[Logical]

6. You claim he is lying? nt

[tammywammy]

7. I wish we still had unrec. n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

18. Me too!

[nomorenomore08]

25. +2

[chillfactor]

8. if there is a hypocrite on this thread...

it is you..you know nothing about this wonderful man...yet you have the audacity to critisize him.....you should be ashamed of yourself..........

[MyUncle]

9. I am very aware of Chris Kluwe.

Last edited Tue Jan 7, 2014, 04:38 PM - Edit history (1)

I am a football fan and have read stories by him and about him for many years and I'm willing to bet more than any other people who have slammed me.

I say he is calling out people for being afraid to do what was right in fear of their careers, when he waited until his career was over to call out people. There in lies the hypocrisy.

DU people, please, it is not the message, it is the messenger in this case. He could have done the right thing, called out the bigots and risked ending his career. But he waited until his career was over (it really was over over for you non NFL fan) then decided to make a very public and high profile stance.

If he did this while he was employed by the Vikings, then this opinion would be very different.

Re the "black punter" comment, it was a story in Sports Illustrated that made a point of describing their competition and relationship in both racial and generational terms. Do some research please.

Please, read the post. Thanks.

[William769]

10. He did do this during his career, thats why he got booted.

Apparently you don't know his career as well as you think you do.

[MyUncle]

16. He supported gay marriage yes,

and that might or might not have been the reason the Vikings and Raiders cut him. My guess is that he was due to make $1 - $2 million dollars more a year than his replacements without a significant loss of output - he's a punter (I know punters, I was a punter).

Again, I'm saying if he would have reported this shortly after it happened, I'll give him 6 months benefit of the doubt, I'd day he's a genuine hero. As it stands, he's going to become more famous, he's going to become a hero of LGBT community, he is going to be a "rebel", he is going to file a lawsuit and he's going to be even richer than he is. Look up how much $$$ he made as an NFL player. Look up how much his NFL pension is, don't be fooled, this is a very smart, manipulative man.

He had NOTHING to lose by making these accusations at this time and a lot to gain. Good for him, he's got it figured out.

[Iggo]

11. It's the messenger, all right.

[fishwax]

14. that's a crock

The brave thing was standing up for LGBT rights in a way that could very plausibly hurt his career. I see no reason why writing this article while still a Viking would have (a) been braver than what he did or (b) would have the positive effect of what he actually did.

And as to the black punter comment, I don't see how the sports illustrated article makes the fact relevant to the argument you're making.

Finally, if you're going to claim you know so much about the guy and be critical of other people's knowledge and research, you might want to be sure to spell the dude's name correctly.

[William769]

15. Let's add some insult to injury, shall we?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113726786

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113726296

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113725124

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113723033

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113722082

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113721075

http://www.democraticunderground.com/113720939

This is just a sample over the past couple of years. Still want to tell us how well you know this man?

[Behind the Aegis]

17. To borrow a phrase from the 90's....

Whoops! There it is!



(PS...Happy New year!)

[William769]

19. LOL!

[SidDithers]

20. And boom goes the dynamite...

Sid

[TBF]

32. Good Job

Last edited Fri Jan 3, 2014, 10:27 AM - Edit history (1)

[MerryBlooms]

34. beaut

[HangOnKids]

23. Compulsive Gambler?

" I'm willing to bet more than any other people who have slammed me." Your antecedent about Chris does not work in this case and you just described yourself as a very poor better.

Poor writing, really sloppy and sophomoric. But gee, glad to see you come back after joining nearly ten years ago to set DU straight. LOL.

[libnnc]

12. Sell it somewhere else. Ain't buying. n/t

[jamzrockz]

13. Chris Kluwe wasn't cut because of anything he said

He was cut because of money. Most NFL teams can hire 2 younger, more promising punters with the minimum amount it will cost them to pay his yearly veteran minimum salary.

Its always about the money, NFL teams will take a lot of abuse from players(T.O anyone?) if it gets em closer to winning.

[Major Nikon]

22. TO wasn't cut by the Eagles for performance

He was cut because he was controversial.

[hughee99]

24. Owens was badmouthing his own teammates in the press.

That's one sort of controversy most teams won't tolerate, especially if he's talking about their own starting star quarterback. It's not really the same as speaking out on political or social issues, or just being a general "whack-job".

[Major Nikon]

28. It still makes him a bad example to the poster's point

It's not always about the money.

[Oilwellian]

21. He gave a very good reason for not speaking out before now

Some will ask why I waited so long to tell this story. It's a fair question, and I have two answers. The first is that I still have friends on the Vikings, and opening up something like this during the season would not help them focus on their jobs. By doing it now, I hope they don't have to answer questions about an issue that concerns only four people, and I hope the issue will have died down before next season starts.

The second is that I wanted to prove I still had the physical ability to compete in the NFL. I can still hit the ball 45 yards outside the numbers with good hangtime, and at the tryouts I've had this year I've gotten praise from the scouts and personnel people on hand, but for whatever reason I cannot find a job. (Side note: My numbers from last year would put me right in the middle of the pack for this year, and I've traditionally been in the middle to top third of punters each year).

I see nothing hypocritical for publishing his piece at this point in time. He's completely free now to write about whatever he wants. In fact, I hope it becomes his next career.

[hughee99]

26. I don't really see the hypocrisy with the timing either,

I don't doubt that his public statements were a contributing factor, but I think the money he was due from the Vikings was also a significant factor given that the Vikings were less than $1 million under the salary cap, which is about the same amount the Vikings saved by going with the rookie instead of Kluwe. Given the stats, it looks like the Vikings got about the same stats out of Locke (the rookie) as they got from Kluwe in 2012 at 1/3rd the price. I wish Kluwe the best in his future endeavors, and he may even be right about the motivations of the Vikings front office, but in hindsight, it appears that strictly as a "football decision", cutting him was the right move.

[regnaD kciN]

27. There's another good reason for the timing...

...if you read his article, you'll see that the special teams coach (the one who wanted to nuke all gay people) is being seriously considered as the team's next head coach. If coming forward prevents that from happening, I'd say it was Kluwe's last act to protect the NFL.

[Jenoch]

35. One reporter for the St. Paul newspaper

wrote that he was being considered but nobody really believes it. A coach has never made the leap from special teams coach to head coach.

[kydo]

29. Chris Kluwe was correct to call them out and there was nothing self serving on the timing

I'm pretty sure the Vikings cut him for many reasons, but at the top of their list was the activism. The rest of the reasons was cover for the coaches and team. Come on this is the Vikings 50 of their 53 players are at best mediocre. This is the same team that thought Ponder was a good quarterback. When they finally understood that he is horrible they go out and spend lots of money on an even worse QB who started one game and lost with them. The only thing good about the Vikings is AP. Frazier was a bad pick for this team and they finally got rid of him.

But it appears that you failed to comprehend what Chris Kluwe wrote on why he is talking now. Mike Priefer is the reason. This douche is being considered for higher coaching positions. Sadly he is a bigot and there should be no place in the NFL for his type of mentality.

There is no hypocrisy here but I'm sure the anti everything not white, not male, and not heterosexual, crowd will have their panties all wadded up their tiny little butts and start screaming anything they can to discredit Kluwe. There are your real hypocrites.

[Jenoch]

37. You forgot a few players for the Vikings

who are pretty good...

Cordarrelle Patterson has the record for the longest play in NFL history. Harrison Smith is a pro bowl safety. Blair Walsh has the record for the most 50 yard field goals without a miss.

[saltpoint]

30. Kluwe was outspoken while he was a player.

He can't be considered a hypocrite for remaining outspoken now.

If Kluwe gets praise for his article, it's well-deserved praise.

This is a junk slam on an evolved athlete.

[TBF]

31. Y'all ought to be thinking

about building your team instead of knocking people down. Vikings ...

[frylock]

33. cool story, bro

[joeybee12]

36. From the douchebag GM in Minnesota's mouth to your lips...

Unrec

[one_voice]

38. I rec'd this...

just so I could take it back. Not as good as the unrec and maybe a tad juvenile, but it made me feel better.

[Behind the Aegis]

40. Oh you!

[Puglover]

39. I believe every word of Kluwe's story.

Your story OTOH. Bullshit.