Q Toon: I See Your Punt

One thing I like about this cartoon is that it's not just a tribute to a cartoonist who was one of my earliest influences: he just happens to be from St. Paul, Minnesota.

The back story is that Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe spoke out in 2012 against a proposed Minnesota state constitutional amendment excluding gay and lesbian couples from marriage rights; he also spoke out rather emphatically in support of the Ravens' Brendan Ayanbadejo. According to Kluwe's account on Deadspin, Vikings owner Zigi Wilf expressed approval of Kluwe's outspokenness, but head coach Leslie Frazier and Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman cautioned him to tone it way down.

While Kluwe is critical of Frazier and Spielman for being wishy-washy, he portrays Special Teams coordinator Mike Priefer as a completely loathsome bigot:

"We were laughing over one of the recent articles I had written supporting same-sex marriage rights, and one of my teammates made a joking remark about me leading the Pride parade. As we sat down in our chairs, Mike Priefer, in one of the meanest voices I can ever recall hearing, said: 'We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.'"

Kluwe alleges that Priefer had it in for him over Kluwe's pro-gay stands, and that's what eventually led to his being cut from the team. Vikings management has launched an investigation into Kluwe's charges.