A former coach for the Minnesota Vikings and the Cleveland Browns – Mike Preifer – is joining the UNC Tarheels team at the behest of Bill Belichick.
Belichick is a former head coach of the New England Patriots who brings to the table a progressive background, as well as support for the Gay Flag Football league. He has also served as an inspiration to teams in that league.
Priefer, however, with an anti-LGBTQ+ history of prior words and actions, is an antithesis to Belichick.
Previously working for the Minnesota Vikings as a special teams coordinator between 2011 to 2018, Priefer’s stint with the team had severely problematic moments, which included some particularly harsh anti-LGBTQ+ commentary.
Chris Kluwe, a former Vikings punter at the time and LGBTQ+ ally who had spoken out in favor of same-sex marriage, felt the comments were inappropriate and offensive. After his contract with the team was not renewed in 2013, he wrote about his experiences with Priefer before, after and during a locker room meeting with the team in 2012.
“As we sat down in our chairs,” Kluwe recalled about the meeting, “Mike Priefer, in one of the meanest voices I can ever recall hearing, said: ‘We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.’ The room grew intensely quiet, and none of the players said a word for the rest of the meeting. The atmosphere was decidedly tense. I had never had an interaction that hostile with any of my teammates on this issue. Some didn’t agree with me, but our conversations were always civil and respectful. Afterward, several [players] told me that what Mike Priefer had said was “messed up.”
Following an investigation, Priefer was suspended for three games when it was confirmed by other witnesses he had made homophobic comments aimed at the punter. Priefer was also reportedly required to make an apology to Kluwe.
Vikings owner Zygi Wilf and president Mark Wilf released the following in a statement: “In this instance, Coach Priefer fell short of what is expected. Accordingly, we have decided to suspend Coach Priefer without pay for the first three games of the 2014 regular season. In addition, he will be required to satisfactorily complete specialized workplace training that will include an emphasis on the managing of diversity and sexual orientation.”
While most sources in the media aren’t acknowledging Priefer’s response following Kluwe’s release of the information – or perhaps they just haven’t uncovered it yet – Priefer did apologize in the same news release from the Vikings.
“I owe an apology to many people – the Wilf family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and fans, my family, the LGBT community, Chris Kluwe and anyone else that I offended with my insensitive remark,” he said. “I regret what has occurred and what I said. I am extremely sorry but I will learn from this situation and will work on educating others to create more tolerance and respect.”
More than a decade has passed since, but the question remains, was Priefer’s apology genuine, or just lip service to keep his gig with The Minnesota Vikings?
According to a column Kluwe wrote that was published on the website deadspin.com and dated April 30, 2013, Priefer’s anti-gay comments and actions were repetitive and occurred on multiple occasions – more than just his “nuke the gays” comment in a locker room meeting. Throughout the months of September, October and November 2012, Priefer regularly used homophobic language in Kluwe’s presence.
“He would ask me if I had written any letters defending “the gays” recently and denounce as disgusting the idea that two men would kiss, and he would constantly belittle or demean any idea of acceptance or tolerance … Priefer also said on multiple occasions that I would wind up burning in hell with the gays, and that the only truth was Jesus Christ and the Bible.
Kluwe continued: “If there’s one thing I hope to achieve from sharing this story, it’s to make sure that Mike Priefer never holds a coaching position again in the NFL, and ideally never coaches at any level. It’s inexcusable that someone would use his status as a teacher and a role model to proselytize on behalf of his own doctrine of intolerance, and I hope he never gets another opportunity to pass his example along to anyone else.”
But Preifer did get other opportunities. After the Vikings came the Browns. And now, so it would seem, the UNC Tarheels. With that kind of history, is he the right man for the job?
Additional material was added to this article by Qnotes Staff.