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Earlier today, the Minnesota Vikings announced their coaching staff for the 2014 season. The Vikings retained three coaches from last year's staff, among them special teams coach Mike Priefer.
To say that was met with displeasure from the camp of Chris Kluwe would be doing a disservice to the word 'displeasure'.
Kluwe contends he was released because of his stance on gay marriage, and when the Vikings announced Priefer had been retained, Kluwe's lawyer Clayton Halunen, when contacted by the St. Paul Pioneer Press, had some pretty choice words for the Vikings and the investigation:
"It’s unbelievable to us. It shows that the Vikings are not sincere about this supposed investigation, that it’s a mere charade, and at the end of the day they’re going to cover up this… It’s just a matter of when we begin litigation. That’s the only question in my mind now. Do we immediately file suit or do we wait and see if we get the confirmation we get from their supposed investigation?"
Kluwe initially welcomed the investigation that the Vikings launched to address these allegations, but has made it clear that the only acceptable outcome for Priefer should be removal as coach and rehabilitative training. Anything short of the Vikings investigation corroborating his claim would result in litigation, as he claims he has texts and emails backing up his version of events. Those accusations include multiple homophobic rants by Priefer that Kluwe contends created a hostile work environment. Priefer has denied the allegations.
We speculated in the new staff thread that the Vikings thought there wasn't anything to this, or that Priefer and the team could handle the distraction from ongoing litigation, or both. It looks like we'll find out.
