Chris Kluwe’s lawyer says text messages confirm the former Vikings punter’s claims that his then-special teams coach, Mike Priefer, made homophobic comments after Kluwe began speaking out in favor of gay marriage.
The lawyer, Clayton Halunen, told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press that text messages from kicker Blair Walsh confirm that Walsh heard the same comments that Kluwe heard. Walsh has previously said he did not witness any type of homophobic statements or acts on Priefer’s part, and Halunen is now suggesting that Walsh was lying when he said that.
“If Walsh is going to lie, this will all be exposed, I’m confident,’' Halunen said. “If Walsh is going to lie, that’s his choice. But at the end of the day, we believe this is going to come out. We have evidence. So he made that choice, I guess.’'
Kluwe claims that in addition to Priefer making homophobic comments, the Vikings released Kluwe because they didn’t like his vocal support for gay marriage. Priefer denies making the comments, and the Vikings say Kluwe was cut for football reasons.