Longtime Minnesota Vikings' Punter Arrested in California

The Minnesota Vikings have had to deal with several players being arrested over the years. Thankfully, this time around, it involves a former player.

It has been over 10 years since this guy put on a Vikings uniform, but even when he was on the team, he was an outspoken player, especially when it came to LGBTQ rights.

A Former Viking’s Controversial Past

Signed by the Vikings in 2005 as an undrafted free agent after being cut by the Seattle Seahawks, Chris Kluwe became one of the NFL’s top punters and set multiple Vikings punting records, including a career punt average (44.4 yards per punt).

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Kluwe’s Departure from Minnesota

Kluwe was cut by the Vikings in 2012. He said it was because of his activism and accused a coach of making homophobic remarks. The Vikings and Kluwe reached a settlement, with a donation made to LGBTQ charities.

D Dipasupil

Retirement and Renewed Activism

Now that he’s retired from the NFL, he clearly has more time to focus on his activism—so much so that it got him arrested in California this week.

Protest at Huntington Beach City Council

Kluwe went to a City Council meeting in Huntington Beach, California, on Tuesday, where he was protesting a new sign being put up at a local library.

According to FOX News, the sign says, “Through hope and change our nation has built back better to the golden era of Making America Great Again!” It also has the words “Magical,” “Alluring,” “Galvanizing,” and “Adventurous” on it, which spells out MAGA.

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Kluwe’s Speech and Arrest

Kluwe gave a short speech, calling Trump supporters a “Nazi Movement” and listed what he thought MAGA actually stood for: “MAGA stands for trying to erase trans people from existence. MAGA stands for re-segregation and racism. MAGA stands for censorship and book bans.”

After his speech, he informed everyone that he was going to engage in “peaceful civil disobedience” and proceeded to walk to the middle of the room in front of the councilors.

Police immediately arrested the ex-NFL star and carried him from the room. He was charged with disrupting an assembly.

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Sometimes images are the best way to honor the figures we've lost. When tragedy swiftly reminds us that sports are far from the most consequential thing in life, we can still look back on an athlete's winning moment that felt larger than life, remaining grateful for their sacrifice on the court and bringing joy to millions.

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