Chris Kluwe is only one of the supporters of gay rights who has been released from the NFL under questionable circumstances.
Outspoken punter Chris Kluwe was released by the Minnesota Vikings on Monday and some commentators are smelling conspiracy.
Of course, Kluwe’s release comes on the heels of linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo’s release from the Baltimore Ravens and the retirement of linebacker Scott Fujita, who has also been an outspoken supporter of marriage equality.
Looking ahead this summer, it’s also entirely possible that Jason Collins, who just came out last week as the first male athlete in one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America to declare he’s gay, and who is also a free agent this off-season, won’t be picked up by any team in the NBA. He’s 34 years old after all and averaged only 1.1 points per game last season, while earning the veteran-minimum salary of $1.35 million dollars. (If you’re curious about the math, that comes out to more than $32,000 per point.)
Kluwe is 31 and was, before being released, earning well above the NFL average for punters. He was also underperforming. His net average per punt was only 17th in the league and he ranked second to last among all punters in the number of punts pinned inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. The Vikings decided to select a punter in the NFL draft – UCLA’s Jeff Locke – who they can sign for considerably less money. From both a football and financial perspective, the move makes perfect sense.
Whether Kluwe’s support of marriage equality, among other causes, was part of the reason he was let go, I don’t know. It’s certainly possible and the Vikings Special Teams Coordinator Mike Priefer has made it clear how he feels about Kluwe’s advocacy. (Kluwe is, by the way, correct that Ray Guy should be in the Football Hall of Fame.)
Still, we can’t just jump to conclusions because we might happen to like the guy’s politics, especially when there is enough evidence in front of us to suggest he was cut for very viable reasons. The Minnesota Vikings are hoping to build on last season’s success and compete for the Super Bowl. They shouldn’t be making personnel decisions out of political correctness. And, honestly, neither do I think they would cut Kluwe for his political advocacy, if the team’s front office honestly believed he was the most efficient punter they could find for the money.
What it does leave us with, however, is the possibility that, after a year of progress, all the athletes who stepped up as spokesmen on behalf of and, in the case of Jason Collins, representatives of the LGBTQ community will again be on the sidelines.
I don’t think this leaves us at square one, but it will represent a set back if, in fact, it turns out to be the case. We will need new spokesmen, then, to step up and continue the fight, ideally ones who are younger and in their prime, perhaps a superstar even. Then, if they’re cut, we’ll know for certain that politics played a part.
Photo: Joe Bielawa/Flickr
This is a very troubling article – in part because the title is very misleading. Chris Kluwe has been a great advocate for GLBT rights, he’s outspoken, well-written, and he’s funny. But it’s quite clear he was not released under questionable circumstances: as a punter, he wasn’t very good. Will this perceived bias help or hurt?
thank you wellokay then and steve-
the NFL cares about as much about a players politics as the NBA cares about where a player sticks his dick…. Did someone say Kobe?
J.A.
What? I don’t get a shout out for saying the very same thing in the article.
Liam
Yeah well Liam—- sorry, but then I expect accurate reporting by you… A Harvard guy even if you do play that funny sport best played in a rubber suit while trying to make weight….
Of course now I’m going to bust your balls if I don’t get any ink on my pieces…
Fair enough, J.A.. Fair enough.
Or as much as SC voters care about family values?
Ben Roethlisberger.
The NFL is ruthlessly practical. I guarantee, if you can pin your opponents inside the 5 yard line enough times in a season, your politics won’t make a damn bit of difference.
NFL teams generally treat punters and kickers as expendable, and I’m not sure Kluwe’s stats were all that great, so it’s hard to say that this was clearly a political move.
If any punter should be in the Hall of Fame, then it should be Ray Guy. Even John Madden, notoriously dismissive of kickers, says that Guy was the best.
Personally, I think no one has punted a ball like Reggie Robie, before or since. The guy had a cannon for a leg. He was the main reason that TV coverage started clocking “hang time.”
wellokaythen,
You’re right. Kluwe’s stats weren’t very good. That and the fact that, comparatively speaking, he was expensive for a punter are ultimately why he got released.
Liam