WR fined for going to funeral

**Beans** · 11-09-07, 04:32 PM

I think this is crappy, and the team should be ashamed of themselves.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7...PHCP&GT1=10637

**jmur5074** · 11-09-07, 05:22 PM

Another reason why I'm a Minnesotan who dislikes the Vikings.

**HotTamale** · 11-09-07, 06:42 PM

Thats why I like the packers, they take care of there players.

**PapaBear** · 11-09-07, 07:05 PM

The Vikings are way out of line in this case. No wonder their fan base is dwindling. Must have a bunch of emotionless AHs in the head office. "Bah humbug!"

**Buttercup** · 11-09-07, 07:13 PM

That's not right, they should be ashamed of themselves.

**mack** · 11-09-07, 07:30 PM

That is a rotten thing to do, how well would he have played if forced to come back for the game. Everyone needs time following the death of a close loved one to adjust.

**Doc_Holliday** · 11-09-07, 08:38 PM

Not to mention the fact his brother has been hospitalized for months after an auto accident falling in and out of a comatose state...Vikings suck hind teet

PeterJasonMN · 11-09-07, 10:43 PM

I would take a piss on the owner's desk.

Holy fuck. That's just...wow.

**121Traffic** · 11-10-07, 01:58 AM

Add to that his funding of 30 familiy members' trips back home. That is a stand up thing to do.

**armsmaster270** · 11-10-07, 02:09 AM

That just ain't right. piss on them. But he was right, you gotta know your priorities.

**gopherpuckfan** · 11-10-07, 10:45 AM

All I know is Troy Williamson wasn't in the lineup against San Diego and we whooped 'em. The Vikes should have given him this weekend off too as we play the Packers in Lambeau.

He's a terrible wide receiver.

**OXCOPS** · 11-10-07, 12:13 PM

I don't know anything about the guy, but if he is worth anything, he should start actively looking for a trade deal, or anything that would get him out of that organization. There is no way in hell I would work for ANYONE that told me they would penalize me for attending the funeral of a close family member.

I would bet there is a team out there that would help him get out of his contract with the Vikings, and take him on.

The non-PC side of me says he should eat something red, take a shit on the boss' desk, stick his keys in it, walk out and never look back.

**gopherpuckfan** · 11-10-07, 02:15 PM

Update....

November 10th, 2007 – 12:04 PM by Kevin Seifert
The Vikings will in fact pay WR Troy Williamson his game check for the No. 4 game against San Diego, reversing an earlier decision to withhold it after he missed the game to plan his grandmother’s funeral.

Coach Brad Childress confirmed the decision in an interview this afternoon. The impetus, Childress said, came from a meeting of his veteran player council Friday.

“It’s important to convey that this was never a penalty,” Childress said. ”I just want to emphasize that I’m grateful to have a great leadership group and great owners in the Wilf family. We had an open and candid discussion with our leadership group and spoke at length about it.”

Childress added: “In the end, we wanted to get this thing right. It’s more important to get it right than to be right.”

Williamson’s base salary this season is $435,000, meaning he stood to lose $25,588.24 had the Vikings not paid him.

**gopherpuckfan** · 11-10-07, 02:21 PM

I'm always going to be a Vikings fan, but the following blog from the Star Tribune demonstrates the differences between a first class organization (the Minnesota Wild) and a second class (the Vikings).

-I added my own emphasis a few paragraphs down

Souhan here blogging because I’m sitting next to Judd at the Vikings and I’m bored. And amazed.

How about this contrast between local teams: Wes Walz goes AWOL from the Wild, which if he doesn’t have a good excuse is, in fact, inexcuseable, yet the Wild continue to pay him while placing him on non-roster status.

I like Wes. I like the way he plays. But, again, if he isn’t dealing with something more significant than retirement contemplation, he’s abandoning his teammates and his employer without explanation, and that’s just wrong.

Meanwhile, the Vikings are docking receiver Troy Williamson one game check for attending the funeral of his maternal grandmother and missing last week’s game.

I could see the Vikings looking askance at Williamson’s absence. But docking him pay for leaving to attend a funeral? This is why I’ve been so willing to bash the Vikings’ braintrust. Ever since Brad Childress and Rick Spielman arrived, the Vikings’ headquarters has become emblematic of soulless, corporate America, where employees are unimportant, replaceable cogs.

Conversations with current and former Vikings employees have led me to believe that you’d rather work for Enron than The Purple. And if it weren’t for Adrian Peterson’s brilliance, this team would be 1-7. (Yes, I give the Vikes credit for drafting Peterson, but who else could you have possibly taken at No. 7?)

Everyone grieves in different ways. Williamson was very close to his grandmother, and apparently became the key person in the organization of the funeral, and his relatives’ travel plans.

Dock his pay? That, along with the releasing of Marcus Robinson on the afternoon of Christmas Eve last year, sends a strong signal to potential free agents. Anyone wonder why a team with deep pockets was unable to sign any premier talents in last year’s free agent market?

The Vikings should stop talking about their “family'’ atmosphere and “family'’ organization. They have the right to dock Williamson’s pay, but it’s a cold-hearted move.

Even if they turn this season and this program around, the Vikings’ success will be based on a solid group of veteran players and a phenomenal rookie running back, not any sense of family at Winter Park.

-Jim Souhan (Judd’s lackey and Kevin’s manservant)

**OXCOPS** · 11-10-07, 03:22 PM

Childress added: “In the end, we wanted to get this thing right. It’s more important to get it right than to be right.”

This says alot right here. They are not going to admit they screwed up, but instead, caught a bunch of hell from other players about it. So, in order to keep the peace with the entire team, they reversed their first ruling and paid him.

I wonder what the veteran players said in that meeting? If I was a true betting man, I would assume it was some encouraging words to pay him, or explaining the owners would have larger problems.