And....... here we go!

[Djfan]

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/07/20/nfl-coach-suspended-over-a-single-homophobic-statement/

SPORTS
NFL Coach Suspended Over a ‘Single Homophobic Statement’
Jul. 20, 2014 8:30am Zach Noble

Minnesota Vikings special teams coach Mike Priefer will sit out the first three games of the upcoming season because of an anti-gay comment he made, Talking Points Memo reported.

Vikings Coach Suspended Over a Single Homophobic Statement
Minnesota Vikings special teams coordinator Mike Priefer speaks to the media following practice at NFL football training camp, Saturday, July 27, 2013, in Mankato, Minn. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)
A pair of Minneapolis attorneys hired by the team to investigate claims of rampant homophobia did not find strong evidence of a hostile work environment, but they did confirm that Priefer made a “single homophobic statement to [former Vikings punter Chris] Kluwe.”

The comment: “We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.”

The team announced Priefer’s three-game suspension on Friday.

The investigation stemmed from Kluwe’s release from the team and an article he wrote for Deadspin entitled, “I Was An NFL Player Until I Was Fired By Two Cowards And A Bigot.”

In Kluwe’s article, Priefer is identified as the “bigot.”

Kluwe claimed that he was harassed for his outspoken support of same-sex marriage, that former head coach Leslie Frazier pressured him to stop his public activism for same-sex marriage and that he was cut from the team over the issue.


Priefer has “vehemently den[ied]” Kluwe’s claims, and the investigating attorneys determined that it was bad football performance, not his social activism, that lost Kluwe his job.

“We… did not find sufficient evidence to establish that members of the Vikings organization attempted to discourage Kluwe from engaging in marriage equality or equal rights activism or that the Vikings harbored a homophobic hostile work environment,” the attorneys stated in their report. “The investigation materials support that the Vikings released Kluwe for football performance reasons and not his views on marriage equality.”

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Follow Zach Noble (@thezachnoble) on Twitter

 

[ark steel]

The comment: “We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.”

I think this is a bit more than homophobic. While, surely, a bit tongue-in-cheek, saying ""let's nuke all the gays", is not the same as "I don't want to be around gays".

Three game suspension for a "first offense" seems a bit over the top, too.

 

[bmoritz]

How the ahole Kluwe pulling down his pants in the locker room and making jokes about the Penn State scandal? That hypocrite should just shut up!

 

[Roy92040]

Chalk one up for freedom of speech, not.

 

[oneforthebus]

I think this is a bit more than homophobic. While, surely, a bit tongue-in-cheek, saying ""let's nuke all the gays", is not the same as "I don't want to be around gays".

Three game suspension for a "first offense" seems a bit over the top, too.

There are a whole lot of employers who would fire you for making a statement like that.

 

[ark steel]

There are a whole lot of employers who would fire you for making a statement like that.

While that is true, that doesn't make it a reasonable punishment for a "first offense".

 

[Superman]

While that is true, that doesn't make it a reasonable punishment for a "first offense".

one cannot tarnish the ******* shield!

 

[Rod Farva]

So, Kluwe's pissed that he couldn't say whatever he wanted. And he channels that pissedness into screwing over someone else for their saying what they wanted. Sounds about right.

 

[Max Power]

He was cut because he sucked. Probably literally.

 

[bmoritz]

With all of Kluwe's whining, I'm surprised he hasn't been picked up by the Saints. He'd fit right in.

 

[Supersteeler]

A bit more extreme than run of the mill homophobic statement. A somewhat homophobic statement that is common in all locker rooms is something like "Hey, don't be a ***". Still common everywhere in locker rooms I'm sure. And while it could be deemed offensive by a good amount of people, stating that gays should be rounded up and nuked off the face of the Earth is a whole other level. You are getting suspended for that by your bosses most places an deservedly so. Substitute any other group of people in that statement other than gays and it still sounds just as bad.

 

[hamster]

What is wrong with these people. Don't they know it is career suicide to speak disparaging about any one of the victim classes.....unless, of course, you are a member of one of the other victim classes.