Chris Kluwe Lawsuit: After Twitter Blowup, Ex-Vikings Punter To Sue

Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe threatened to sue the team unless they made available the results of its investigation into special teams coach Mike Priefer and the discriminatory comments Kluwe claims Priefer made toward him.

The Vikings instead released a trimmed down summary of their findings Friday, and although Priefer will be suspended for the first three games of the upcoming season, Kluwe reportedly intends to file a lawsuit against the team Monday.

An advocate for same-sex marriage rights, Kluwe, 32, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press he asked the Vikings to suspend Priefer for four to eight games. He also asked that Priefer attend sensitivity training and the team make a $1 million donation to gay and lesbian groups.

However, the Vikings at first declined to suspend Priefer and only offered a donation of $100,000.

Now Kluwe lawyer Clayton Halunen is expected to file a suit for defamation of character and emotional distress and is seeking damages in excess of $10 million.

Kluwe expected the Vikings to be completely transparent during the investigation, but the team released a 29-page summary of its investigation, trimmed down from a 150-page report that contained footnotes and interview transcripts that could bring sensitive or possibly damning material to light.

The 29-page report can be found on Deadspin, and it alleges Kluwe made several comments towards a Vikings coach, who is a Penn State alum, about the Jerry Sandusky sex-scandal.

The Vikings did suspend Priefer for three games and he’s required to attend sensitivity training though the suspension could be scaled back to two games.

Kluwe wrote a piece for Deadspin in January in which he alleged then-Head Coach Leslie Frazier and current General Manager Rick Spielman were “cowards,” and Priefer was a “bigot” who directed homophobic slurs toward him. Kluwe also alleged the Vikings released him for his views and activism, and not for his play on the field.

In their statement, the Vikings said their investigation didn’t find any evidence of team officials discouraging Kluwe’s activism, and he wasn’t cut for his views. The team did admit Priefer made one homophobic statement toward Kluwe.

Kluwe also responded Friday to his 201,000 followers on Twitter, with some strong words toward the Vikings. He also intends to donate any damages from the lawsuit to LGBT groups, and suggests the Vikings have many things to hide that could come out during a trial.