Another article from the St Paul Pioneer Press
Posted on Thu, Oct. 13, 2005
Love boaters should be benched
Vikings shouldn't allow participants in alleged sex party to represent team
TOM POWERS
For years my wife has pestered me about going on a cruise. But I was under the impression that all you did on those things was eat and gain weight.
No one ever said anything about lap dances.
Furthermore, the brochures almost always list the "live entertainment" as a 16-piece orchestra. But apparently, the live entertainment can be much more of an interactive experience.
I guess no one plays shuffleboard on deck anymore.
Well, the Vikings Likeability Quotient officially has plummeted to the Bird Flu, Kim Jong-il, intestinal virus level.
The Vikings also might have just taken a $780 million boat ride. Jittery politicians, already trembling at the thought of stadium financing, can't be pleased by the news of an alleged drunken orgy on public waterways.
The remaining 12 football games now seem meaningless. The Vikings have bigger walleye to fry. The organization's goal has to be to rebuild its image and restore trust. And that will require drastic measures.
Any Viking involved in what supposedly happened on that boat, and any Viking who wasn't involved but didn't try to stop what was happening, should be booted from the active roster.
Still pay them, if that's what is needed to satisfy union requirements. But under no circumstances allow them on the field to represent the Minnesota Vikings.
It can be done. A few years ago, Tampa Bay simply deactivated Keyshawn Johnson when he became too big a pain. The Eagles sent whining Terrell Owens home during training camp this summer.
The key is to act quickly. Bring up the practice squad guys, and chalk up the rest of the season as a first step toward social responsibility.
It doesn't matter if it's the biggest star or the lowest scrub. It doesn't matter if their defense is "poor judgment" or "a chemical imbalance." It doesn't matter how contrite they are.
Get those uniforms out of their lockers. Make it clear that they no longer are fit to wear them.
Then, perhaps, public outrage will subside. Is the new owner willing to pay these guys NOT to play? That will be very telling. Doesn't anyone ever get tired of these guys acting up year after year?
Of course, the Vikings first have to find out who was involved. Not every player on board behaved like an idiot. But that shouldn't be too difficult. In fact, they ought to be able to put it all together by Sunday's game. I'm sure the authorities already have been in touch.
From there, the response will say a lot about the future of the organization. Will team officials talk about letting it "play out"? That's code for allowing it to drag through the legal system, hoping it takes so long everyone will forget. Or do they take dramatic, preventative measures.
My feeling is that the team is lousy anyway. If it can't be good, it should at least be righteous.
Besides, the players still don't get it. The vast majority refused to even address the issue Wednesday. They acted put out when they discovered reporters wanted to talk about something other than the upcoming game against the Chicago Bears.
Coach Mike Tice said he was operating under the assumption that all his current players would be available to him for Sunday's game.
"I have to until I'm notified by somebody," he said.
He was referring to the league, the police or team ownership.
Tice appeared to take the allegations much harder than his players. He's in a tough spot. The owners and executives were on one of those touchy-feely retreats ? singing "Kumbaya" and passing around the talking stick ? as they tried to formulate team policy.
They actually were working on a code of conduct while some of the employees were re-enacting a scene from "Caligula" on Lake Minnetonka.
Linebacker Keith Newman waved off the charges, saying: "As long as guys are ready to play football, that's all I care about. As long as they get their jobs done, that's all that matters to me."
He then asked a reporter if he cared about what his co-workers did when they went home at night. That was a good point. I've long suspected several colleagues of spending their free time in search of lap dances.
However, those colleagues aren't asking the state for any type of financing deal. Plus, we're talking about serious legal issues on the Vikings' love boat. Issues such as lewd and lascivious behavior and prostitution.
Nope, this is the ultimate mess. It's bigger than the Whizzinator or any nightclub fight. The only way to begin to rectify the situation is to quickly get those purple uniforms away from those involved.
But do I think it will ever happen? Let's just say it hasn't ever happened yet.
Tom Powers can be reached at
tpowers@pioneerpress.com.
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