Vikings’ Mike Priefer comments on suspension

Minnesota Vikings special teams coach Mike Priefer was suspended for three games after an independent investigation confirmed former punter Chris Kluwe’s claim that he made homophobic comments. Kluwe, a same-sex marriage advocate, has been waging a rather public war against the Vikings and has been unleashing on Twitter since part of the report came out on Friday and Priefer’s punishment was announced.

Kluwe wrote an essay published on Deadspin in January titled “I was an NFL Player Until I was Fired by Two Cowards and A Bigot.” In the essay he accused Priefer of saying “we should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.”​

Priefer commented on it for the first time on Thursday.

From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

"“I’d like to start off by saying that I like to set a higher standard for myself — a higher standard of conduct, a higher standard of work ethic, a higher standard of being a father and a husband and I expect a lot from my players as well,” Priefer said. “My wife and I raise our children this way in terms of our last name and what that means. Remember who you are. In this regard, in this situation, with my comment, I failed. I didn’t just go below the bar. I went way below the bar. I made a mistake. I was wrong. I brought a lot of undue attention to the Minnesota Vikings organization and brought an unwanted distraction, and I apologize. The apology that I spoke about, that I put out on Friday, I want to reiterate that in a very humble and sincere manner.”"