Chris Kluwe announces settlement in homophobic remarks lawsuit
Former Minnesota Vikings NFL player Chris Kluwe on Friday announced that he had reached a settlement with the team after he alleged a coach made homophobic remarks.
A press conference formally announcing the settlement has been scheduled for Monday, Kluwe’s lawyer Clayton Haluyen said.
After he was dismissed from the team, amid claims that his support for gay rights was the cause, the Vikings were forced to conduct an investigation into homophobia within the team management.
Kluwe had alleged that assistant coach Mike Priefer in 2012 made homophobic remarks. Priefer was suspended for three games following the investigation.
The former punter announced the lawsuit against the team, for $10 million. He said he would donate any proceeds to LGBT charities.
The settlement announcement will be made on Monday.
Two months later, he announced that he had been dropped by the Minnesota Vikings, and this year alleged he was “pretty confident” that he had been sacked on account of his gay rights activism, bringing Priefer’s comments to light and threatening a lawsuit.
Priefer has apologised for the comments, and denied claims that he was homophobic, saying that he has gay family members whom he loves.
