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Ex-Vikings punter Chris Kluwe plans to sue team over coach's anti-gay remarks

Ex-Vikings punter Chris Kluwe plans to sue team over coach's anti-gay remarks

Former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe plans to sue the team, per his attorney, for failing to release a report of the Vikings' internal investigation of one of its coaches allegedly making homophobic remarks.

The story first came to light in a Deadspin report in which Kluwe, who had been released by the Vikings by that point, alleged that Vikings special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer used slurs and taunts in response to the outspoken Kluwe, who hasn't hid his support for gay marriage.

Priefer denied the allegations, and the Vikings issued a statement Tuesday saying they have no plans to release the report of their internal investigation. They hired two outside lawyers to investigate Kluwe's claims.

Still, Kluwe and his attorney believe the Vikings are misleading the facts of the case.

“It’s transparently obvious to me that the Vikings are covering up the truth," Kluwe’s attorney, Clayton Halunen, told KFAN. “We have no choice but to litigate at this point. Kluwe willingly cooperated with the Vikings’ investigation — all he ever wanted was for the truth to come out.”

Kluwe also spoke about the investigation and said the team was concealing the truth of what really happened.

“It’s outrageous to me that the Vikings would choose to hide the facts of the investigation from me and from their fans,” Kluwe added. “Minnesota Vikings fans are the real losers in this sad affair. The fans deserve to know that what I said about Priefer and the way the Vikings let me go was the truth. I was persecuted and then fired for standing up for what I believe in, all because some small-minded, bigoted people think that homophobia is OK in the NFL. It is not OK, and now it seems like we’ll have to go to court to force the Vikings to admit that.”

Halunen said they'd still like to resolve the issue out of court and that both sides will meet again Thursday. Kluwe would donate any monetary settlement to LGBT advocacy organizations.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!