This is a non-felony charge blown way out of proportion! Then the StarTrib has the gull to list other offenses of NFL players:
*Ray Lewis in a manslaugter case
*Lenard Little DWI manslaughter
*Jamal Lewis drug trafficing
No where near the magnitude of the boat party charges. This media outlit must be smoking crack to make those comparisons; thus proving the point this is purely media driven.

I was only having a little fun with you! I like to monitor what people are saying on blogs (I pop in here occasionally)... and I try to work that into my reports. Many of our CCO viewers don't know about blogs, and I think they should

Anyway, I agree with you Commish-- these charges are minor stuff. And of course, we wouldn't cover it unless it involved professional athletes. Part of news is the "who." And there's no question professional athletes are supposedly held to a higher standard (not really by me, but I think by most members of the general public).

However, the media didn't create this story. Dumb decisions by pro athletes who know they are under the microscope created the story. I didn't decide to go rent boats from a family outfit like Al And Alma's... and fly in strippers to come on said boat. I can't believe these guys don't know someone with a yacht they could have borrowed. Or do it in your house. But those employees didn't have the chance to leave if they were offended (as they would if they were catering an event). They were trapped on the boat.

That said-- if getting a lap dance is a crime, I'd better turn myself in.

Jason: Yes, realized your were goofing on me....which is just fine. I couldn't just let you lay that egg out there though and not try and crack it!

Thanks for, quite frankly, a refreshing response from a media person owning up to the fact this is a story because it is about professional athletes and it would have otherwise gone in the trash heap of "no news".

I agree that the Vikes players involved should have exercised better judgement. Pro athletes should expect to be held under a microscope since some of them think they can live under another set of societal rules.

But after reading the report, I just don't see a story. So, let's move on.

Well thanks for the communication it's fun to read. But some pro athletes aren't the sharpest knife in the drawer. I mean 7 digit salary and still can't quit smoking dope! These charges as Jason has said, I better turn myself in also.

Don't worry about it Mr. Cheer or Die,
Unlike the obscure media idiots, we fans like to hear about the games. The Vikings are winning, so the message should be overly positive. Don't try and ruin a good mood because new info came up on the "boat party". The media needs to realize that, as they write about this garbage to boost ratings and get rubes and non-fans to read the sports page, that this stuff is old news to the real fans. I mean c'mon, what can be said about the scandal that hasn't been said already? Seven weeks ago ESPN.com, foxsports.com, sportingnews.com, you name it, they all had a columnist with an opinion. Mostly positive, trying to sink our ship....but we're still rolling, the Vikings are now in the playoff hunt after an amazing run, and many fans, including myself, do NOT care about the scandal anymore! Save it till the offseason when news is few and far between! I'm glad you don't write about that garbage...it gives me a place to go and know that I won't have to put up with all the negative b/s....and I like that. Keep it buddy, and don't listen to the media a-holes...they're just in it to sell papers and advertising spots on TV, radio, and print, so why should their opinion count in the eyes of a die hard fan? Maybe I'll see ya at the game this Sunday...

-JON

Who cares??

You've got to be kidding - while there is a certain amount of media hype, somewhere between 4 and 30 professional athletes committing lewd acts in front of unwilling cruise line employees, who should not be subject to this behavior, is a legitimate news story - even if it does not rise to the level of the Ray Lewis case.

It seems the effective stonewalling by the players has effectively squashed an investigation which would have indicted far more of the organization.

Should it be covered? Yes. Why? First, this organization has been actively campaigning for public funds. While this was not an officially sanctioned event by the team, this behavior is made possible by the huge amounts of money these athletes are paid. If the public will enhance this wealth by funding a stadium, they ought to know what they are getting for the expenditure in addition to the physical assets.

There are dozens of other legitimate angles and yes, the newspaper companies, who are for profit entities, will maximize those angles to sell newspapers.

This story would be also covered if it was, for instance, a Northwest Airlines or Best Buy Christmas Party gone awry. To the same level? Probably not. But face it; more airtime is devoted to the beloved Purple than for instance, the operating budget of Minneapolis Public Schools.

It’s a travesty that because the team is on a six game winning streak the fandom is going to let this behavior slide. As has been pointed out, Wilf and company need to deal with this obscene behavior in a swift and meaningful way. If they don’t, it just shows this whole “code of conduct” nonsense is cheap talk.

Frankly, I would love to see 20,000 fans no show the Sunday game or turn off the TV anything to say this is not acceptable behavior under any circumstances. But the rubedom is not likely to do this. Instead, they will wait in line for tickets, drink $8 dollar beers and continue to support this egregious behavior without ever holding anyone accountable. Skol Vikings!

Why should anyone be suspended when no one has been convicted of anything? If you suspend McKinnie now, and he is found not guilty, then what? You've just suspended someone who made a poor decision, but didn't commit a crime.

Why? If I'm the owner of the Vikings, this might be my logic:

Regardless if a crime is committed, these players have caused hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of dollars damage to the business in something called "goodwill". I would go as far to say, they have caused a major setback in the team's ability to generate any significant new support for a partially public-financed stadium. You can bet money that the "love boat" has made an already challenging propostion even more difficult.

Regardless of whether or not it's a crime, the damage has been done. The penalties should be even more severe if the players are convicted.

If you happened to read Kevin Siefert's article this morning, you'd also know the situation might get worse, before it gets better. This was "truly conduct detrimental to the team". Should the players try and fight the charges, there will be more unsavory details aired in public with even more damage being done to the "public" goodwill.

The team might be handcuffed somewhat based upon the collective bargaining agreement in terms of when and how the punishment can be handed down - but they should and hopefully will be punished financially.

So what is suspending them going to do? Haven't they already been punished in the court of public opinion?

No. Absolutely not. The harshest penalties will be and should be financial. Take away the game checks and see how fast these thugs fall into line.