Vikings punter Chris Kluwe is one of the most outspoken players in the league. He’s not too afraid to call out inconsistencies within the NFL when he needs to, or mock Roger Goodell with a funny drawing. Now he’s gone a step farther, calling out some of his fellow players for reportedly holding up the CBA because of perceived personal greed. Here’s what Kluwe wrote in a tweet:
Shortly after Kluwe’s tweet gained attention, he joined What’s Wright with Nick Wright on 610 Sports in KC to talk about his tweet. Before we present analysis of his comments, you must hear Kluwe read his tweet. Awesome audio:
Kluwe went on to explain why he called those players out. In case you’re unfamiliar, it stems from a Yahoo! Sports report that said Vincent Jackson and Logan Mankins want to be compensated for sitting out games last season. The other part of the report is that Brees and Manning reportedly want to be exempt from the franchise tag. That’s what led to Kluwe’s reaction.
“I try to call out hypocrisy and greed whenever I see it,” Kluwe told Wright. “To be fair, I’ve called out the owners, and when the players do it I call them out as well. It really looks like they’re looking forward for themselves and not the other players in the league. We want to get back to work, and if you’re going to try and hold it up to get some special concessions for yourself, that’s a little selfish.”
Kluwe was just warming up before he really went in on Peyton Manning. “I think Drew Brees is the only one who has been to any of the trial meetings and is actually paying attention to it,” Kluwe asserted. “I think Vincent Jackson may have been to one. You don’t really hear Peyton Manning talking about anything because he wants to protect his endorsement deals, he doesn’t want to rock the boat. You don’t hear Mankins talking about anything, and Jackson certainly doesn’t talk about anything.”
Based on the report, Kluwe’s anger should be directed towards Mankins and Jackson rather than the other two guys who supposedly are less likely to create problems. Still, if a few players are holding up the CBA because of personal issues that won’t benefit everyone else, that is selfish and it is good for Kluwe to call them out.
