More than 140: Sportsball Culture

A few days ago my partner asked about Chris Kluwe and whether he'd play football again. I said he'd probably like to if only to allow him to pursue his other outlets like writing. Book deals for an outspoken NFL punter aren't the norm but they sure are more likely then book deals for a World of Warcraft gamer who has opinions on marriage equality. That being said I don't think Kluwe's aritcle today is a desperate attempt to stay relevant. I think it's about outing a bigot in the workplace.

I believe Kluwe's story for a few reasons:

• He has nothing to gain. Yes there will be a spike in media attention but the libel suit he could face would be far worse on his pocketbook.
• He's done nothing in the past 18 months to suggest otherwise.
• I've played sports, followed sports and sadly nothing Mike Priefer allegedly said surprises me. 

Priefer is certainly entitled to his opinion but it's an opinion that makes him a bigot. He's also not entitled to weld that opinion in a workplace where he's in a position of power. I truly think Kluwe's goal here was to call out the behavior of Priefer and also the lack of character in his head coach and general manager. There's probably a lot of Priefers out there and worse yet a lot of coaches and GMs who are willing to turn a blind eye to this hate speech out of fear, laziness or worse yet agreement.

The sexism, racism and homophobic attitudes that dominate every level of sport have been on my mind a lot lately. My four year old son has started playing organized hockey. I'm terrified for that moment when a teammate, or worse yet a coach, tells him "that's gay" or "you jewed it up". Granted we're talking pre-schoolers here but my life experience tells me to expect it at any time. My partner and I will do our best to raise a kid who stands up and says "that's wrong", but you know what, that's fucking hard.

It's also fucking hard for an 18 year old in college or a 32 year old punter in the NFL. Kluwe might not fit the stereotype athlete but he still exhibits the attributes we ascribe to them. In his piece he writes "...I still have friends on the Vikings, and opening up something like this during the season would not help them focus on their jobs. By doing it now, I hope they don't have to answer questions about an issue that concerns only four people, and I hope the issue will have died down before next season starts." Tell me that's not being a good teammate.

I'm not burning any Vikings jersey's or renouncing the team for life but I'm not sure where to go from here either. My NFL fandom has dipped over the last few years already from the head trauma issue and this certainly won't have me rushing to order Sunday Ticket. Still the Vikings are hiring a new head coach this year and if Kluwe's quote of owner Zygi Wilf there's at least a chance they'll address this culture. As to our larger culture, I just hope we can stand up and call a bigot out whether it's in the NFL, our kid's locker room or the office meeting room. Not easy, not without risk, but always right.