Classless

[b bulldog]

The Minnesota Vikings have fined Troy Williamson $25,588 because he missed three practices last week and Sunday's game. The reason why he missed was to attend his Grandmothers funeral. Coach brad Childress says that this fine is out of his control and it is a buisness thing.

[PackerTimer]

This was on the local sports here in the Twin Cities a couple of nights ago already. At the time I remember thinking that it would really look bad for the Vikes in a few days. Now its the main story on ESPNS NFL section and it just looks bad.

The reasoning behind the decision is classisc. It was a business decision. Whoever is making their business decisions should be fired. This is a terrible business decision. As an NFL team, player relations are extremely important and this is most definetelty not the way to deal with your players or any employee for that matter.

[Rastak]

Very classless.

[Lurker64]

I think the odds of Williamson staying with the Vikes after his rookie contract is up are getting worse and worse.

[gbpackfan]

The Vikings organization is getting killed in the media. Money talks in this league but potential free agents are def. paying attention. They have some damage control to do up in the H-dump.

[Rastak]

The Vikings organization is getting killed in the media. Money talks in this league but potential free agents are def. paying attention. They have some damage control to do up in the H-dump.

They don't have their offices at the Metrodome, and this issue is pretty much done. In my opinion they should have paid him even though he left the team to go home. Stupid decision in my opinion.

[Bretsky]

The Vikings organization is getting killed in the media. Money talks in this league but potential free agents are def. paying attention. They have some damage control to do up in the H-dump.

They don't have their offices at the Metrodome, and this issue is pretty much done. In my opinion they should have paid him even though he left the team to go home. Stupid decision in my opinion.

yup

[oregonpackfan]

This is a very callous business decision.

[Maxie the Taxi]

Re: Classless

The Minnesota Vikings have fined Troy Williamson $25,588 because he missed three practices last week and Sunday's game. The reason why he missed was to attend his Grandmothers funeral. Coach brad Childress says that this fine is out of his control and it is a buisness thing.

It must have been a business decision. They figured the fine out to the last dollar! A truly caring organization would have rounded the fine down to $25,000.

[gbgary]

maybe they needed the 25k more than he did.

[gbpackfan]

The Vikings organization is getting killed in the media. Money talks in this league but potential free agents are def. paying attention. They have some damage control to do up in the H-dump.

They don't have their offices at the Metrodome, and this issue is pretty much done. In my opinion they should have paid him even though he left the team to go home. Stupid decision in my opinion.

Rastak,

You know what I meant, who cares where their offices are. And I don't think this is a dead issue. It certainly isn't for Troy and his family. They have got to be pissed.

[Rastak]

The Vikings organization is getting killed in the media. Money talks in this league but potential free agents are def. paying attention. They have some damage control to do up in the H-dump.

They don't have their offices at the Metrodome, and this issue is pretty much done. In my opinion they should have paid him even though he left the team to go home. Stupid decision in my opinion.

Rastak,

You know what I meant, who cares where their offices are. And I don't think this is a dead issue. It certainly isn't for Troy and his family. They have got to be pissed.

You meant to throw an insult and it missed the mark. If I said Lamblow field you would have corrected me. I worked blue collar jobs years ago and those guys didn't care either. If the union didn't negotiate it you didn't get paid for shit. No work, no pay. Period. No exceptions.

BUT, I agree it's a shitty deal and I wouldn't have handled it that way were I in charge.

[gbpackfan]

Guess I was right Ras. Oh, it hurts to be so good.

POSTED 10:04 p.m. EST, November 9, 2007

MINNESOTA MUTINY BREWING?

The decision of the Minnesota Vikings to dock receiver Troy Williamson a game check for missing the Week Nine contest against the Chargers due to the death of his grandmother apparently is having some unintended consequences for coach Brad Childress.

The move, as we hear it, is pushing some veteran players -- and some members of the coaching staff -- toward a revolt against Childress.

Even before the widely-criticized decision to withhold $25,000 and change from Williamson, there were strong signs of discontent. Presiding over a struggling offense and meddling (as we're told) with defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier's work has made Childress a target for quiet (to date) hostility.

The thinking is that the Williamson debacle could create major problems for Childress, unless the decision to take Williamson's game check is quickly reversed.

And we've got a feeling that, if this controversy continues to grow, owner Zygi Wilf might soon feel compelled to make a change, regardless of whether the Vikings run the table (highly unlikely) or rookie running back Adrian Peterson breaks the single-season rushing record (surprisingly possible). Family surely is important to Mr. Wilf, as evidenced by the presence of several folks with that same name at the top of the operation.

Besides, at a time when Wilf is trying desperately to find a way to finagle a new stadium for the Vikings, the P.R. fallout from a family-unfriendly personnel decision could make a steep climb even more treacherous.

So stay tuned. Our guess is that Childress, in a sheer act of self-preservation, will soon decide to give Williamson his game check. And it's entirely possible that Williams would politely tell Childress to stick the check up his own personal ATM.

Beyond 2007, we simply can't see these two men working for the same team. Though it's easy to assume that Williamson will be gone, we're not ready to rule out a termination of Childress.

[gbpackfan]

The Vikings organization is getting killed in the media. Money talks in this league but potential free agents are def. paying attention. They have some damage control to do up in the H-dump.

They don't have their offices at the Metrodome, and this issue is pretty much done. In my opinion they should have paid him even though he left the team to go home. Stupid decision in my opinion.

Rastak,

You know what I meant, who cares where their offices are. And I don't think this is a dead issue. It certainly isn't for Troy and his family. They have got to be pissed.

You meant to throw an insult and it missed the mark. If I said Lamblow field you would have corrected me. I worked blue collar jobs years ago and those guys didn't care either. If the union didn't negotiate it you didn't get paid for shit. No work, no pay. Period. No exceptions.

BUT, I agree it's a shitty deal and I wouldn't have handled it that way were I in charge.

Why would I have corrected you? Lamblow field is where their offices are. :P AND when you say Lamblow, you mean the #1 field in the NFL, right? (See SI for more). HA HA HA!!!

[RashanGary]

Re: Classless

Coach brad Childress says that this fine is out of his control and it is a buisness thing.

This is the worst part. If you are going to make a decision like this, stand by it. Dont' be a coward and say you had no choice.