The Minnesota Vikings on Friday
launched an investigation into Chris Kluwe's claims that his gay
marriage advocacy ended his NFL career.
Former Chief Justice of the Minnesota
Supreme Court Eric Magnuson and former Justice Department attorney
Chris Madel will head the investigation.
“It is extremely important for the
Vikings organization to react immediately and comprehensively with an
independent review of these allegations,” team president Mark Wilf
said in a statement.
In a scathing op-ed published Thursday,
Kluwe said that he was fired by special-teams coordinator Mike
Priefer, whom he called a “bigot,” and two “cowards”:
then-head coach Leslie Frazier and general manager Rick Spielman.
Kluwe alleged that Priefer made several
anti-gay comments in the course of objecting to his advocacy on the
issue of marriage equality and quotes Priefer as saying during a team
meeting, “We should round up all the gays, send them to an island,
and then nuke it until it glows.”
Priefer “vehemently” denied the
charges and the Vikings said that Kluwe was released as a result of
his “football performance.”
Speaking to the AP, Kluwe said that he
was pleased that the Vikings team was taking the matter seriously.
“I made some very serious statements
and I do have the evidence to back them up,” Kluwe
said. “I don't think [Preifer] is a good role model.”