 Kluwe in 2012 with theMinnesota Vikings | |||||||||
| No. 5, 4 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Punter | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born: | (1981-12-24)December 24, 1981 (age 43) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 215 lb (98 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos, California) | ||||||||
| College: | UCLA (2000–2004) | ||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2005 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Christopher James Kluwe (/ˈkluːi/KLOO-ee; born December 24, 1981) is an American writer, social activist and former professionalfootball player who was apunter in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theUCLA Bruins before signing with theSeattle Seahawks as anundrafted free agent in 2005. He played in the NFL for the Seahawks,Minnesota Vikings, andOakland Raiders.
Kluwe is widely known for his eight seasons with theMinnesota Vikings, where he set eight individual team records.[1] During this period, Kluwe became an outspoken advocate on social issues, includingsame sex marriage andgay rights, which ultimately led to tension between Kluwe and coaching staff.
Kluwe was released by the Vikings after the 2012 season, signed with the Oakland Raiders prior to the 2013 season, and was subsequently released.[2] Kluwe was unable to find another NFL team with which to sign and retired from professional football in 2013. Following his departure from football, he has pursued a writing career and was a humor columnist for the sports websiteDeadspin.
Kluwe played three years of varsity football for coach John Barnes atLos Alamitos High School inLos Alamitos, California, and was selected to play in both the California-Texas Shrine game (where he kicked a 57-yard game-winning field goal with no time left) and the CaliFlorida Bowl. He was named aUSA Today first-team All-American as a punter. He kicked anOrange County and CIF Playoff record 60-yard field goal vs.Loyola to force overtime in an eventual 30–23 victory. Averaging 46.6 yards as a punter, he had 10 punts of at least 60 yards and placed six kicks inside the 10-yard line. As a placekicker, he made 16 of 22 field goal attempts and 39 of 41 PATs. Prior to his senior year, he won the punting competition at the National Kicking Invitational with a 63-yard punt that had 4.98 seconds of hang time. Kluwe also played one year of baseball as a pitcher.
Kluwe enrolled at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he developed into one of the top punters in thePac-10 Conference. He graduated in 2005 with a double major in political science and history.[3] He set school records for both total punt yardage and total number of punts in a season in 2003. In his senior year, he ranked 3rd in the Pac-10 and 12th in theNCAA in yards per punt (43.4). He was selected as special teams player of the game in theSilicon Valley Football Classic againstFresno State after averaging 44.3 yards on nine kicks. He also tied the bowl record with his nine punts and placed three kicks inside the 20-yard line. Kluwe was a finalist in his senior year for theRay Guy Award that annually recognizes the best collegiate punter.
| Year | Punts | Yards | Average | In 20 | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 0 | 25 |
| 2002 | 1 | 44 | 44.0 | 0 | 44 |
| 2003 | 91 | 3908 | 42.9 | 19 | 66 |
| 2004 | 61 | 2647 | 43.4 | 24 | 68 |
| Totals | 154 | 6624 | 43.0 | 43 | 68 |
| Height | Weight | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft4+5⁄8 in (1.95 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | |||||||||||
| Values fromPro Day[4] | ||||||||||||
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Kluwe was signed as an undrafted free agent by theSeattle Seahawks in 2005. Kluwe had been notified by both the Seahawks andSt. Louis Rams that either team might draft him in the late rounds. As soon as the draft ended, Kluwe signed a free agent contract with Seattle. Kluwe had an excellent training camp with Seattle, to the point whereDonnie Jones was released after the first week of Organized Team Activities, leaving Kluwe andLeo Araguz splitting time during the pre-season games for the punting duties.[5] Kluwe was told by the Seahawks prior to the final pre-season game they were going to take him to the practice squad and the Seahawks wanted Kluwe both as a potential back-up and for developmental reasons. Due to NFL rules, the Seahawks had to place Kluwe on the waiver wire for 24 hours prior to signing him to a practice squad contract. The Seahawks waited until the last minute to place Kluwe on the waiver wire as they knew three teams had been scouting Kluwe as a potential punter for their team. The Seahawks concerns were well founded as Kluwe was claimed off the waiver wire early the next day by the Vikings.[citation needed]
Kluwe became one of the most surprising pickups for the Vikings, finishing his first season with an average of 44.1 yards per punt, ranking second in the NFC and sixth in the league. He punted 71 times during his first season. Kluwe was also named NFC special teams player of the month for September 2005 – a first for any Vikings special teams rookie.
During a Week-13 game in Detroit, Lions safetyVernon Fox dove towards Kluwe during a punt and collided with Kluwe's plant foot. Although initial concerns were that Kluwe had a broken ankle, tests showed Kluwe had a sprained ankle. What the tests did also show was that earlier in the game when the ball was snapped over Kluwe's head and he had to make a running and jumping rugby style kick to avoid being blocked, he tore his right ACL when he landed after the kick. KickerPaul Edinger was the punter for the remainder of the game, but a few days later the Vikings signed 42-year-old veteranDarren Bennett for 1 week. Kluwe then returned to play the final 3 games of the 2005 season with a torn ACL in his kicking leg, which prompted his then coach Mike Tice to reply to a reporter's question about Kluwe's injury that "My punter is a tough guy." As Tice was not known to be sympathetic towards punters and kickers, this showed the amount of respect he had for Kluwe's willingness to play with a serious injury. During the 2006 off-season Kluwe had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair the ACL. The operation was successful and Kluwe returned to the Vikings in full health for the 2006 season.
On October 25, 2007, Kluwe signed an $8.3-million contract extension through 2013. The deal made Kluwe, who would have been arestricted free agent in the 2008 offseason, one of the 10 highest-paid punters in the NFL.
On December 20, 2010, Kluwe had the dubious distinction of punting the ball that theChicago Bears'Devin Hester would return for a touchdown, breaking the all-time NFL record for combined punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns. Previously in the game, Kluwe had successfully kept the ball out of Hester's hands on four punts.[6]
In 2011, Kluwe changed his jersey number when the Vikings acquired quarterbackDonovan McNabb. McNabb previously wore #5 for theWashington Redskins andPhiladelphia Eagles, and requested the same number when he arrived in Minnesota, which was then being worn by Kluwe. Kluwe agreed on the condition that McNabb make a $5,000 donation to charity, to mention Kluwe's band Tripping Icarus a total of five times during McNabb's press conferences, and to buy Kluwe an ice cream cone.[7] Kluwe took up #4 which had been worn by quarterbackBrett Favre in 2009 and 2010. Following McNabb's departure from the team, Kluwe reclaimed his old #5 for the 2012 season. McNabb did mention Kluwe's band three times and did write the check for the donation, but did not buy Kluwe the ice cream cone until 5 years later.[8]
After a poor performance in an October 25, 2012 game against theTampa Bay Buccaneers, the Vikings brought in several punters for workouts to potentially replace Kluwe. Kluwe had been playing since 2007 with a torn meniscus. His discomfort caused by the condition late in 2012 led to him deciding to have surgery during the offseason. In January 2013, the team signed punter T.J. Conley to a futures contract.[9] Kluwe finished the 2012 season with an average of 45.0 yards per punt, ranking tenth in the NFC and 22nd in the league.[citation needed]
Kluwe had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to repair a torn meniscus in early 2013. Recovery was uneventful and Kluwe was back to full health in a matter of weeks. During the 2013 NFL draft, the Vikings draftedJeff Locke (UCLA) in the 5th round of the draft as a punter. Speculation immediately surfaced that Kluwe's days were numbered with the Vikings due to the use of a relatively high draft round pick for a punter. On May 6, 2013, Kluwe was released by the Minnesota Vikings.[10]
Kluwe holds a number of team punt records for the Minnesota Vikings (see list below).[1]
Kluwe signed with theOakland Raiders on May 15, 2013, less than two weeks after being released by the Vikings.[11] Kluwe signed for a veteran minimum contract for one year. Kluwe was given his old number (#5) by the Raiders and competed withMarquette King for the position of punter. Kluwe expressed thanks to the Raiders for picking him up and stated that, "I am glad to be a Raider and playing back in California, where I grew up." On September 1, Kluwe tweeted that he had been released by the Raiders.[12]
On January 3, 2014, Kluwe retired from football. After a year of not playing, he did not want to attempt playing in the NFL again, and believed his chances were slim givenhis outspoken views about same-sex marriage and criticism of the Vikings.[13][14]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Punting | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Punts | Yds | Net Yds | Lng | Avg | Net Avg | Blk | Ins20 | TB | ||
| 2005 | MIN | 15 | 71 | 3,130 | 2,540 | 62 | 44.1 | 35.8 | 0 | 17 | 6 |
| 2006 | MIN | 16 | 93 | 3,934 | 3,309 | 68 | 42.3 | 35.6 | 0 | 28 | 7 |
| 2007 | MIN | 16 | 81 | 3,621 | 3,001 | 70 | 44.7 | 37.0 | 0 | 34 | 9 |
| 2008 | MIN | 16 | 73 | 3,473 | 2,589 | 62 | 47.6 | 35.0 | 1 | 23 | 13 |
| 2009 | MIN | 16 | 73 | 3,202 | 2,762 | 60 | 43.9 | 37.8 | 0 | 24 | 9 |
| 2010 | MIN | 16 | 83 | 3,569 | 3,228 | 59 | 43.0 | 38.9 | 0 | 32 | 5 |
| 2011 | MIN | 16 | 77 | 3,517 | 2,925 | 60 | 45.7 | 38.0 | 0 | 22 | 3 |
| 2012 | MIN | 16 | 72 | 3,237 | 2,856 | 59 | 45.0 | 39.7 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| Career | 127 | 623 | 27,683 | 23,210 | 70 | 44.4 | 37.2 | 1 | 198 | 54 | |
| Year | Team | Punting | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Punts | Yds | Net Yds | Lng | Avg | Net Avg | Blk | Ins20 | TB | ||
| 2008 | MIN | 1 | 8 | 362 | 253 | 60 | 45.3 | 31.6 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2009 | MIN | 2 | 9 | 384 | 364 | 61 | 42.7 | 40.4 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2012 | MIN | 1 | 5 | 248 | 231 | 56 | 49.6 | 46.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Career | 4 | 22 | 994 | 848 | 61 | 45.2 | 38.5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
During the2011 NFL lockout, theBoston Globe reported that an agreement between owners and theplayers' union was being held up by special considerations for a few top employees,[15]Peyton Manning,Drew Brees,Vincent Jackson, andLogan Mankins. Kluwe tweeted his frustration at this impasse, assailing their greed and calling them "douchebags."
AfterNate Jackson wrote an article for the sport websiteDeadspin, excoriating Kluwe for talking "out of turn",[16] Kluwe responded with his own article, highlighting the contrast between his own fruitful career and Jackson's lack of statistics, while reiterating his opinion that four people endangering the livelihoods of the 1,900 affected by the dispute was "pretty much the definition of greed."[17]
Kluwe publicly released a letter on September 7, 2012, via sports websiteDeadspin he had sent to Maryland state assembly delegateEmmett Burns, defending the opinions of Baltimore Ravens linebackerBrendon Ayanbadejo and condemning Burns on his attempt to stifle Ayanbadejo's free speech.[18] Ayanbadejo has been a vocal supporter ofsame-sex marriage and Burns had sent a letter requesting that the Ravens ownership "inhibit such expressions" by their employee.[19] On October 1, 2012, Kluwe published aletter to the editor that responded to a video statement released by former VikingMatt Birk in supporting a ban on same-sex marriage. In the letter, Kluwe outlined six primary reasons why he disagreed with Birk's statement.[20] Kluwe was also featured in a documentary calledThe Last Barrier which aired on NBC Bay Area on December 8, 2012. During this interview he spoke about his feelings towards equality.[21]
Kluwe and Ayanbadejo filed anamicus brief to theUnited States Supreme Court on February 28, 2013, regardingHollingsworth v. Perry, in which they expressed their support of the challenge toCalifornia Proposition 8.[22] Kluwe appeared on the January 18, 2013, episode ofThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, to discuss his support of same-sex marriage.Ellen DeGeneres inducted Kluwe as the first inductee in her Hall of Fame, since NFL punters are unlikely to be voted into the league's hall of fame.[23] On April 16, 2013, in recognition of his steadfast support of same-sex marriage and for starting a conversation aboutLGBT issues in athletics, Kluwe was named the Grand Marshal of the 41st annual Twin Cities Pride festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[24]
On January 2, 2014, Kluwe accused the Vikings of releasing him due to his support of same-sex marriage.[9][25] He stated that the Vikings requested that he "deliberately sacrifice my own numbers to help the team, a request with which I always complied."[26] The team stated it was not previously made aware of Kluwe's allegations, and countered that he "was released strictly based on his football performance."[25][27][28] Kluwe stated that in 2012 special teams coachMike Priefer had madehomophobic remarks and criticized Kluwe's views on same-sex marriage.[25] Priefer responded with a statement saying that "I do not tolerate discrimination of any type and am respectful of all individuals. I personally have gay family members who I love and support just as I do any family member.”[29] Kluwe called the coach's acts "inexcusable", and hoped he prevented Priefer from ever coaching again.[30] He also stated that head coachLeslie Frazier told him to stop speaking out on same-sex marriage.[25] Kluwe later acknowledged that his comments on Priefer were "a little too harsh originally", and stated that he preferred that the coach get therapy and counseling and return to the league as a role model.[31]
On January 3, 2014, the Vikings announced that an investigation of the allegations would be performed by former Chief Justice of theMinnesota Supreme CourtEric Magnuson and former U.S. Department of Justice Trial Attorney Chris Madel.[32] On January 26, Kluwe's lawyer stated that at least two witnesses confirmed the homophobic remarks were made and that a Vikings official was aware of those remarks prior to the team's releasing Kluwe.[33] In May, Madel said the completion of the investigation could be delayed until June due to an uncooperative unnamed key witness.[34] In August 2014, Kluwe and the Vikings settled for an undisclosed donation to organizations serving LGBT causes.[35]
During a December 2012 game againstChicago Bears, Kluwe covered thePro Football Hall of Fame patch on his uniform with apost-it note with a message "VoteRay Guy" as a protest against the Hall's 50th Anniversary celebrations due to the lack of pure punters in the Hall.[36] Kluwe was fined $5,250 for a uniform violation by the NFL. In 2014, Guy was voted into the Hall of Fame.[37]
On February 18, 2025, Kluwe was arrested at a city council meeting inHuntington Beach, California, after protesting the city's decision to display a plaque at the city library that features anacrostic ofMAGA.[38] Kluwe then announced his intention to commit peacefulcivil disobedience and began walking towards the council members, which prompted police officers in attendance to place him in handcuffs and remove him from the meeting.[39][40] After his arrest Kluwe was fired from his coaching job at Huntington Beach’s Edison High School.[41]
Kluwe and his wife Isabel have two daughters. He also wrote a blog named "Out of Bounds", which appeared on the website of theSt. Paul Pioneer Press until 2012. He quit the column in protest after the paper published an editorial in support of theMinnesota Marriage Amendment which would have amended the state constitution to bansame-sex marriage: Kluwe was not surprised at the paper's position itself, but felt that the editorial was derogatory to amendment opponents while feigning neutrality.[42]
Kluwe describes himself as "cheerfullyagnostic."[43] Despite stating he is "confused" byatheism, Kluwe agreed to speak at the 2014American Atheists Convention.[43] He has said that his politics "lean toward thelibertarian side", though he says he's "never been a big fan of labels".[44]
Kluwe is an avidGuitar Hero 2 player, having once made an appearance on Minnesota's93X radio station while playing the game with Andy McNamara fromGame Informer magazine.[45] He is a frequent guest on Minnesota sports stationKFAN for "Video Games Weekly" on Wednesday nights. During aKFAN interview on the PA and Dubay show, he admitted he was not very good at sports games.
Kluwe at one time immersed himself in theMMORPGWorld of Warcraft, playing atroll rogue named Loate[46] and has been a member of one of the formerly top-ranked US guilds, The Flying Hellfish, for over four years.[47]
Kluwe appeared in a video promoting the MOBALeague of Legends, stating that he plays the AD Carry position, and that his favorite champion to play in the game is Vayne. He described how he believes that eSports is a "burgeoning culture of actual sports", and believes it will only continue to grow into a legitimate sports scene, based on low barrier to entry, entertainment value of watching professional players, team-based engagement, and continued social acceptance.[48] He has a Sniper class, hero level character named in his honor inXCOM: Enemy Within, an expansion toXCOM: Enemy Unknown. He won this honor after defeatingFiraxis producer and designer Garth DeAngelis in a best-of-three series of online matches ofXCOM.[49]
Kluwe created the unique weapon The Poet's Pen Carved Wand for the gamePath of Exile.[50]
In addition to his former career as a punter in the NFL, Kluwe is the bassist for the local Minneapolis alternative/progressive metal band, Tripping Icarus. Kluwe formed the band in 2009 with friends Andrew Reiner (guitar) and Matthew Marshall (drums), and later recruited Jesse Revel to join on lead vocals. Tripping Icarus recorded their debut EP,The Sideshow Sessions, in the summer of 2009. A year later, they recorded their first full-length LP,Perfect Citizen, which was slated for an early 2011 release. Their producer Andrew Lindberg was killed in a car accident May 2010. Tripping Icarus threw a memorial concert at Minneapolis’ First Avenue. WhenDonovan McNabb was traded to Minnesota before the 2011 season, Kluwe offered McNabb the number 5 jersey in exchange for mentioning Tripping Icarus in at least five press conferences, as well as donating $5,000 to Kluwe's charity, and an ice cream cone.[51] McNabb didn't mention the band in five separate press conferences, but Kluwe concedes that "in his very first press conference, he mentioned it like twelve times".[52]
Kluwe has written a book,Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies (Little Brown & Co.), that was released on June 25, 2013. The book is a collection of essays on various topics and the book title comes from the public consumption version of Kluwe'sDeadspin letter to Maryland General Assembly Del.Emmett Burns.[53] Kluwe also cowrote a book with Andrew Reiner, entitled "Prime: A Genesis Series Event (Volume 1)". The book is the first in a planned science-fiction trilogy. His first novel written solo,Otaku, was published byTor in March 2020.[54] He also contributed a chapter titled "Preparation and Performance" to the 2024 bookKobold Guide to Roleplaying (Kobold Press).[55]
Kluwe released his firsttabletop game calledTwilight of the Gods on August 31, 2017, published by Victory Point Games.[56]
Kluwe was hired as the special teams coach atEdison High School for the 2017 season.[57] He was fired from Edison High School in February 2025.[58]
Kluwe, 43, then said he would be engaging with the "time honored American tradition" of peaceful civil disobedience. The punter-turned-activist walked on the council floor and toward the council members, prompting law enforcement officials to handcuff him and carry him out of the establishment.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
