Apparently, Chris Kluwe's first-person story on Deadspin.com about his assertion that the Minnesota Vikings released him for his outspoken views on same-sex marriage was just a one-time rant.
The Minneapolis Pioneer Press reported Monday that Kluwe, the eight-year Vikings punter who was released before the 2013 season, has retained legal counsel.
Representing Kluwe during the matter will be Minneapolis lawyer Clayton Halunen along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
In an article last week on Deadspin.com, Kluwe called Vikings special teams coach Mike Priefer a "bigot" and general manager Rick Spielman and former head coach Leslie Frazier "cowards" for their involvement in his release last May.
The Vikings released a statement defending their decision to release Kluwe for "football reasons" only but a day later announced that the former punter's claims would be investigated by an independent party.
Priefer vehemently has denied Kluwe's claims, and Kluwe's successor, Jeff Locke, came to his coach's defense, saying via Twitter, "I have never witnessed any actions or statements by Coach Priefer similar to those described in the recent Deadspin article."
Kluwe countered with a statement Monday, saying, ""I want the truth to come out from the investigation, not in litigation."
The Pioneer Press reported that Halunen said in another statement his client is not bitter toward the Vikings, reiterating Kluwe felt compelled to address how he was treated during the 2012 season and through his release in May of 2013.
"Chris Kluwe stands up for what he believes is right, even if it costs him personally to do so," Halunen said in the statement. "It's obvious to me, as it should be to most thinking people familiar with the situation, that Chris paid a steep price for speaking out in favor of same-sex marriage rights in 2012 while he was a Vikings player. Ultimately it may have cost him both his job with the Vikings and his career as an NFL player, along with much emotional anguish over what he believed to be a kind of personal attack on him for his views on a vital issue of human rights.
"Even so, Chris is not bitter towards the Vikings, nor does he carry a personal vendetta against anyone associated with the team. He is grateful to the Vikings for the great career he had with the team. But he couldn't stand by when someone with as much influence in sports as a member of the Vikings coaching staff makes dangerous and dehumanizing statements against the LGBT community."
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