Jesse Ventura and Chris Kluwe: Credibility Gaps

Governor Jesse Ventura (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Jesse Ventura and Chris Kluwe are two men who have a few things in common.  Both used to be professional athletes, one in wrestling and the other in football.  Both have dabbled in politics, one as Governor of Minnesota and the other as a gay rights activist.  Both are now (or soon might be) embroiled in legal controversies that could endanger their credibility, not to mention their careers.  Some might say that's already happened.

Ventura filed a defamation suit against the now-deceased author of a bestselling book (whose name and tome will not be divulged here), who was once a Navy SEAL just like the former Governor, who wrote about getting into a bar fight in 2006 with a man he called "Scruff Face", and who he said was making disparaging comments about the war in Iraq and about dead soldiers.  In later interviews, the author said that "Scruff Face" was in reference to Ventura.

Ventura denied all that, saying the incident never happened, and the author's claims have cost him the respect of other military personnel, as well as having financial setbacks and lost job opportunities.  You might say people stopped taking Ventura seriously a long time ago when, after his term as Governor ended, he hosted a TV show highlighting conspiracy theories.  Suing a dead fellow SEAL and his widow was bad enough.  Losing to them in court may be even worse.

As for Kluwe, the former Minnesota Vikings punter is contemplating a lawsuit against the team for not suspending assistant coach Mike Priefer when he made an offensive comment about gays, and for not releasing a full report of a six-month investigation into alleged homophobia in the locker room.

Kluwe got only part of what he wanted.  The Vikings suspended Priefer for three games, not the four he asked for.  They also released only a few pages of the report, not all of it flattering to Kluwe.

Not only did the Vikings cut Kluwe before the 2013 NFL season for strictly football reasons and not for his activism (he was also let go by the Oakland Raiders soon after), but the report goes on to say that Kluwe made joking references to the Penn State child sex scandal in the locker room.

If that's true, then Kluwe just shot himself in the foot.  He had all this support from those who believed in his efforts to get same-sex marriage legalized, and he punted it away (so to speak) because of a heinous joke.  You suppose those LGBT organizations would want the money Kluwe promised to give in case he won the lawsuit?

At this writing, the Ventura case has gone to the jury.  They have yet to reach a verdict.

Also at this writing, Kluwe's case has yet to be filed because he, his attorney and the Vikings are reportedly negotiating a settlement.

Whatever happens, both men will either be vindicated, or will need to take a good look at themselves.  And so do we.

UPDATE (7/29/14):  It took the Ventura jury six days and a vote of 8-2 to come up with this verdict:  $1.3 million in "unjust enrichment" and $500,000 for defamation for the former Minnesota Governor.

In wrestling terms, it was a split decision.