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| Chris Kluwe IMG: lev radin via Shutterstock. |
Announced
at a media conference on Tuesday by his attorney Clayton Halunen, former NFL punter
Chris Kluwe will sue the Minnesota Vikings over his release from the team last
year in hopes of getting the league to publicly unveil the findings of an
investigation into the matter.
Halunen said that the lawsuit will allege that
religious discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, defamation and
tortious interference with contractual obligations resulted in Kluwe's release
from the team in May 2013, after what he says was a pattern of “intolerant
language” by special teams coordinator Mike Priefer. "We would like to
resolve this out of court if we can," Halunen said at the press
conference.
Earlier
this year in January, Kluwe wrote on Deadspin -- in a controversial piece
titled "I Was An NFL Player Until I Was Fired By Two Cowards And A
Bigot" -- that he was let go because of his outspoken support for equality
for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Much of the alleged
inappropriate, discriminatory language was related to Kluwe's activism on
same-sex marriage and other LGBT issues.
"At this point we have no choice but to file a lawsuit,
which we intend to do so shortly," Halunen said. "In that
lawsuit the very first thing we will get in the request and the course of
discovery will be the investigation report and we will, to the extent we're
able, make that public."
Kluwe, one of the best statistical punters in Vikings history
in his eight seasons with the team, had become well-known for his public
stances on same-sex marriage rights, speaking out often in support of equal
rights both locally and nationally. But after a season in which he was
constantly in the news, Kluwe was released in the offseason. Time will tell if
the lawsuit is realized in court, or more quietly to protect the affected
members of the NFL.
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