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Vikings punter Chris Kluwe a stand up guy

T HEY DON'T CALL the NFL the "No Fun League" for nothing. On Sunday, Vikings punter Chris Kluwe decided to cover the 50th Anniversary Hall of Fame patch on his jersey with a yellow Post-it Note that read: "Vote Ray Guy."

Vikings punter Chris Kluwe decided to cover the 50th Anniversary Hall of Fame patch on his jersey with a yellow Post-it Note that read: "Vote Ray Guy." (Genevieve Ross/AP file photo)
Vikings punter Chris Kluwe decided to cover the 50th Anniversary Hall of Fame patch on his jersey with a yellow Post-it Note that read: "Vote Ray Guy." (Genevieve Ross/AP file photo)Read more

THEY DON'T CALL the NFL the "No Fun League" for nothing.

On Sunday, Vikings punter Chris Kluwe decided to cover the 50th Anniversary Hall of Fame patch on his jersey with a yellow Post-it Note that read: "Vote Ray Guy."

Kluwe would like to see Guy become the first punter inducted into the Hall of Fame. And why not? Guy averaged 42.4 yards per punt during 14 seasons with the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. He was also the first pure punter ever drafted in the first round when the Raiders made him the 23rd overall pick in 1973.

On Wednesday, Kluwe acknowledged he paid a price - in the form of a $5,250 league fine - for his notable gesture.

Money well spent, he said.

"Why am I going to support a Hall of Fame that doesn't have a punter in it?" he said, calling the Hall, "a sham of a system if you're not going to acknowledge every facet of the game."

He also took to Twitter to let the masses know how he felt about the fine.

"My favorite part of the fine email from the NFL - they end it with 'sincerely'," he wrote. "It's the little touches that let you know they care."

But, he saved his best comments - aimed at the Hall of Fame selection committee - for a piece he wrote on Deadspin.com

"How dare you tell a man who devoted his life to perfecting his craft that he's not worthy of admission among the game's greatest," Kluwe wrote. "How dare you have the heartless effrontery to pronounce that football is a team sport, but that some positions are more equal than others? How dare you be so selfish, short-sighted, and just plain [butt]hole-ish to declare that Ray Guy won't be recognized for his skills because you're too damned lazy to learn the subtleties of kicking?

"That's right, voting committee, you're lazy. You're indolent, slothful, petulant, ignorant, and flat-out stupid . . . "

Wow. Guess all of that wouldn't have fit on a Post-it Note.