Everyone makes mistakes, but the key is to learn the right lesson from the mistake and move on. That’s the message being stressed by the Minnesota Vikings leadership in the wake of discovering that their Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer had been lying to them about making breathtakingly ugly anti-gay remarks in an attempt to stop punter Chris Kluwe from championing gay rights off-the-field.
That’s a good message. Yesterday we learned that Coach Priefer is all about the “move on” part of that message. But the “learn the right lesson” part? Not so much.
Priefer did appear to learn some lessons: If you lie, you might get caught. And if you lie and get caught, that can embarrass you, your family and your team.
Those are lessons all right. But are they truly the most important lessons?
Coach Priefer was given the golden opportunity at the news conference to prove that he had learned the most important lessons. As the Star Tribune reported:
Priefer got emotional when asked what he regretted most about what transpired between him and Kluwe.
“The biggest thing I regret is I brought a lot of bad publicity to the Minnesota Vikings and I felt like I let my family down,” Priefer said, choking up as he finished his sentence.
Wrong answer, Coach.
When you say that we should round up a group of human beings, put them on an island to be murdered, your biggest regret should not be that the remark created embarrassing publicity. Your biggest regret should be that you said something unbelievably hateful and hurtful about your fellow man. You should regret that you infected the world with verbal violence that, intended or not, really does feed and rationalize actual violence against gays and lesbians. You should regret that you stood in the way of the cause of equality and freedom of speech when you bullied an employee who championed those uniquely American values.
Those are the right lessons, the more meaningful lessons.
Coach Priefer clearly still thinks everything is all about football. Human rights? Sure, whatever. Hate speech feeding hate crimes? Shrug. Freedom of speech? Whatever. No, Mike regrets that he got caught slamming Kluwe and the gays because it created a distraction from football and an embarrassment to his football organization. Football, football, football.
I hope someone is dreaming up an industrial strength sensitivity class for this guy, because it is going to take one kick ass class for him to get it. In that class, they need to show Priefer how many morons with heads full of Priefer-esque “jokes” humiliate, maim and kill people, solely because of who they love. They need to show examples of how power-drunk employers throughout history have punished African Americans, women, workers’ rights champions and others courageous enough to stand up for American values.
I also hope they line up a management class for Priefer’s boss, Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer who told the Pioneer Press:
“I’ve had a chance to visit with Mike Priefer on numerous occasions, almost every single day, to find out what kind of person he is,” Zimmer said. “I knew his father. I know what kind of family guy he is. He made a mistake. So I just go by what I see; I don’t go by what I hear.”
“I just go by what I see, not by what I hear.” Are you serious? This guy just repeatedly lied to you, and you’re still saying that you just go by what you see when you look at the guy and his background?
With that kind of attitude, Coach Zimmer is poised to sweep all kinds of future personnel problems under the rug. Allegations of sexual violence, domestic abuse, or criminal activity? “I just go by what I see, not by what I hear about those allegations, and I don’t see a rapist when I look him in the eye.”
The Vikings organization’s words and actions show that it looks upon Priefer’s “nuke the gays” remark as a PR embarrassment, and little more. Make it go away with some obligatory spin. But they need to take off their football goggles for a brief second to learn the truly important lessons stemming from this ugly episode.
– Loveland