The explosive allegations of homophobic statements from Vikings special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer and discriminatory intent against punter Chris Kluwe for his gay-rights activism have taken a back seat to the NFL’s postseason drama, but the situation in Minnesota will be heating up, eventually.
Via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the investigators hired by the Vikings will meet with him on Friday, January 24. And the investigators have agreed to allow Kluwe to identify witnesses to the comments from Priefer without naming names.
It makes sense for Kluwe to want to protect his friends and former teammates, given his concern that anything they say can and will be used against them. That speaks to a deeper level of mistrust that Kluwe has regarding the organization.
Kluwe explained to PFT via text message last week that he chose not to complain within the Vikings organization after hearing Priefer’s alleged comments because he “didn’t trust anyone.”
“I’ve seen how this stuff gets handled in the NFL,” Kluwe said. “Jonathan Martin is a good example.”
Still, it’ll be a lot harder to corroborate Kluwe’s allegations if the investigators don’t know who the witnesses are, since it will make it impossible for the investigators to know which players to interview. The best approach may be to interview all players who were on the roster when the comments allegedly were made, allowing each player to decide on his own whether to tell the truth and assume the risk of retaliation.