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EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- NFL executives weren't the only ones who failed to find anything amusing with Chris Kluwe's decision last Sunday to cover a Hall of Fame patch on his jersey with a makeshift "Vote for Ray Guy" message.

A day after it was learned the Minnesota Vikings punter had been fined $5,250 by the league for his uniform violation, special teams coordinator Mike Priefer expressed his disappointment with Kluwe.

"I don't even walk to talk about that," Priefer said Thursday when asked about Kluwe. "Those distractions are getting old for me to be quite honest with you. Do I think Ray Guy deserves to be in the Hall of Fame? Absolutely. But there's other ways of going about doing it in my opinion."

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THIS would be the LEAST important thing for the coaches to even comment on. Kluwe is doing a fine job on a very mediocre team. Leave the guy alone, let him pay his measily fine, and FIX OUR FREAKIN QB/WR/COACHING problems!!!!!

Do I think Ray Guy deserves to be in the Hall of Fame? Absolutely. But there's other ways of going about doing it in my opinion.

Yeah? What are they idiot? Enlighten us? The guys been screwed over hardcore. And got more exposure in one week from this then anything anyone else has EVER done on his behalf.

What's wearing thin is guys getting into the hall of fame with no business being there, while the best player at his position in the history of the game isn't. And thank god SOMEONE is out there doing something about it.

He'd be better off going out and breaking some laws then doing #### to draw attention to some things that are ignored, and have been for far too long. DUI? Speeding? No problem. Using your position as a professional athlete to put a damn note on your jersey, Oh now that's wearing thin! Speaking out on issues you feel strongly about? Can't have that!

... Priefer said Thursday when asked about Kluwe. "Those distractions are getting old for me to be quite honest with you."

I'm sure he's not the only one.

lol wow, who freaking cares?! Must have a pretty big bug up his ####, what a distraction! How could anyone play football under those circumstances kluwe is creating!

Eli wrote: I'm sure he's not the only one.

Now if he was out having parties on boats I would be concerned. But the tape job cost Chris some $$ but it brought more attention to the fact that no punters are in the HOF than anything anyone has done or said about it in the last 50 years. I don't know of a paper or sports page online that didn't report his fine for his statement.

Kluwe is having a very poor year, IMO. I can understand the coaching staff's frustrations with him. This seems like a silly little thing, but again, this season Kluwe is not doing very well. I never have been as high on him as others are but thats not to say I think he is a bad punter.

PurpleMustReign wrote:Kluwe is having a very poor year, IMO. I can understand the coaching staff's frustrations with him. This seems like a silly little thing, but again, this season Kluwe is not doing very well. I never have been as high on him as others are but thats not to say I think he is a bad punter.

A poor year? How do you figure? His overall net average is the highest it's ever been. His return yardages are the second lowest they have ever been. So where is he screwing up?

kluwe has been annoying me all year with his crusades. he seems to crave any attention he can get. i don't care that he's a punter, any time an athlete/actor/musician gets on a soapbox, i tune out. i watch sports to be entertained, not to hear about the latest cause. it's a good thing for kluwe that he's been doing better lately, i think he was close to losing his job back in october/november.

Raptorman wrote: A poor year? How do you figure? His overall net average is the highest it's ever been. His return yardages are the second lowest they have ever been. So where is he screwing up?

brings up an often overlooked part of this year's team: the vikings kick/punt coverage has improved leaps and bounds since '11 (knock on wood)

What bothers me the most about this is that Kluwe is being pegged as a distraction not because he is doing anything wrong (okay so covering up the patch with a post-it was a uniform infraction, but c'mon!), but because he is expressing opinions. Sometimes controversial opinions. Apparently, his coach, the NFL, and many fans, want their football players to be opinion-free. It's absurd. For one thing, he's a PUNTER who is happening to have a solid, if unspectacular year. For another, he's just talking - not driving drunk, not assaulting his wife, not doing drugs, not even getting caught speeding, for crying out loud! Just how distracting can that be? Apparently, pretty distracting.

Here is the thing: those people on that little (or not so little) TV screen, they are people and people tend to have opinions. What's more, they have a right to speak their minds. The fact that we vilify sports personalities, actors and musicians when they express opinions is one of the silliest double standards out there. You don't have to agree with their opinions, but why should they not have the right to express them?

Maybe he should have just had a bar fight or waved a gun in public. Those could paint him as an "acceptable" football player. *sigh*

Just ridiculous. Priefer has done a nice job with the STs, but seriously...

BGM wrote:What bothers me the most about this is that Kluwe is being pegged as a distraction not because he is doing anything wrong (okay so covering up the patch with a post-it was a uniform infraction, but c'mon!), but because he is expressing opinions. Sometimes controversial opinions. Apparently, his coach, the NFL, and many fans, want their football players to be opinion-free. It's absurd. For one thing, he's a PUNTER who is happening to have a solid, if unspectacular year. For another, he's just talking - not driving drunk, not assaulting his wife, not doing drugs, not even getting caught speeding, for crying out loud! Just how distracting can that be? Apparently, pretty distracting.

Here is the thing: those people on that little (or not so little) TV screen, they are people and people tend to have opinions. What's more, they have a right to speak their minds. The fact that we vilify sports personalities, actors and musicians when they express opinions is one of the silliest double standards out there. You don't have to agree with their opinions, but why should they not have the right to express them?

Maybe he should have just had a bar fight or waved a gun in public. Those could paint him as an "acceptable" football player. *sigh*

Just ridiculous. Priefer has done a nice job with the STs, but seriously...

they have a right to speak their minds, but we have a right to tune them out. it's not the first time kluwe has expressed himself, and had it been, this probably wouldn't be a story. back when he was on his gay marriage crusade, he said something along the lines of i don't care about football, this is more important. that may be true, but that's not going to play well with sports fans who would rather see their team win than hear about their personal opinions. i don't go to athletes for political opinions just like i don't go to politicians for sports takes. no one is saying kluwe needs to be a punting robot who can't have a life off the field, but it does get annoying after a while.

tmscr wrote:
they have a right to speak their minds, but we have a right to tune them out. it's not the first time kluwe has expressed himself, and had it been, this probably wouldn't be a story. back when he was on his gay marriage crusade, he said something along the lines of i don't care about football, this is more important. that may be true, but that's not going to play well with sports fans who would rather see their team win than hear about their personal opinions. i don't go to athletes for political opinions just like i don't go to politicians for sports takes. no one is saying kluwe needs to be a punting robot who can't have a life off the field, but it does get annoying after a while.

So, tune him out.

I'm sorry, just have to jump on my soap box for a moment. It always strikes me as strange that we always compartmentalize things like this. He's a football player, so what does he know about politics. He's a plumber, what does he know about foreign policy. We have become a society that devalues the Renaissance Man - someone who is athletic, artistic, intelligent and has *gasp* eloquent and varied opinions. We value simplicity and convenience, instead, and that saddens me beyond consoling.

Demi wrote: Yeah? What are they idiot? Enlighten us? The guys been screwed over hardcore. And got more exposure in one week from this then anything anyone else has EVER done on his behalf.

What's wearing thin is guys getting into the hall of fame with no business being there, while the best player at his position in the history of the game isn't. And thank god SOMEONE is out there doing something about it.

He'd be better off going out and breaking some laws then doing #### to draw attention to some things that are ignored, and have been for far too long. DUI? Speeding? No problem. Using your position as a professional athlete to put a damn note on your jersey, Oh now that's wearing thin! Speaking out on issues you feel strongly about? Can't have that!

Demi,

I think you and I must have had a Vulcan Mind Meld sometime. We seem to see eye to eye both on the Ponder situation and the Kluwe situation -- or at least on the Ray Guy situation.

Ray Guy is Mr. Punter. Why isn't he in the Hall? No possible reason other than shear stupidity.

As for Kluwe, he's not the best punter. But given how friggen awesome he is from the neck up, I'd like him to punt for this team until his average goes down to 20 yards per punt. Seriously, with all the problems the Vikes have in the passing game, Kluwe is the one who is wearing their patience thin? Are you kidding me? What a franchise of numbskulls.

I don't want to get political here, so I'll spare you my views on the contents of Kluwe's public comments. (The old timers here know my politics; they can venture a guess.) But let's just say that whatever you think of Kluwe's wisdom, his IQ is thrice that of virtually anyone else associated with this franchise, and it is always cool to see brilliant minds on your sports team, whether or not you agree 100% with their politics. So let's just enjoy watching what he comes up as a writer, an activist, a commentator on the Hall of Fame, etc., and hope that the Vikes let him stay around and entertain us during the period when their passing game blows beets. Once we become a legit contender and start fearing that the reason we won't win the Super Bowl is because Kluwe is (a) a locker room distraction (he is making the Neanderthals nervous) or (b) not the best punter, then we can think about cutting him. For now, let me just say that I think the guy is great addition to this team, even though he's not an especially consistent punter.

And if that means I'm contradicting myself by saying that Guy needs to be in the Hall because his punting was THAT IMPORTANT to his team's success, but Kluwe should be our punter despite the fact that he isn't all that good at punting ... I can bring on Kluwe himself to quote Emerson ("a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds").

DanAS wrote:
Seriously, with all the problems the Vikes have in the passing game, Kluwe is the one who is wearing their patience thin? Are you kidding me?

To be fair: It was the special teams coordinator who expressed his patience was wearing thin. While I'm not disagreeing that the Vikings have other more pressing issues, it's not in his area of responsibility. If Frazier had made the comment, then I'd agree.