Current and former NFL players and coaches can't seem to agree whether Gregg Williams' speech to New Orleans Saints defenders before this year's NFC Divisional Playoff game vs. the San Francisco 49ers was highly unorthodox or commonplace coachspeak.
Chris Kluwe isn't bashful about where he stands. After the Williams audio went viral Thursday, the Minnesota Vikings punter took to Twitter to rip the former Saints defensive coordinator.
" 'The way you earn respect is through fear'. Are you (expletive) kidding me?" Kluwe tweeted, referencing a line from Williams' speech. "What kind of neanderthal message does that send. No wonder this world's so messed up if people think that's an appropriate way to act and are willing to defend that kind of behavior."
Kluwe continued: "I see a lot of people asking about the context of the Gregg Williams audio clip as it relates to how other teams talk. I will enlighten! 90% of what he said was standard rah rah motivational stuff. Hit guys hard, get him going sideways, etc.; all fine and heard before.
"The part that is an issue is the other 10%, where he specifically talks about targeting ACL's, twisting guys' ankles in the pile, and trying to hit a concussion victim in the head again. That's why Goodell has to come down so hard on this; you don't want that spreading."
This isn't Kluwe's first rodeo. He came out firing at New Orleans in March, calling for lifetime bans for Williams and linebacker Jonathan Vilma after the league's investigation into the Saints' "bounty" program went public. The NFL's findings illuminated what Kluwe saw in a brutal affair between the Vikings and Saints in the NFC Championship Game in January 2010.
As Kluwe closed his argument, free-agent tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, a teammate on that 2009 Vikings team, tweeted: "We could have a ring right now."
Nod to **the St. Paul Pioneer Press*.*
