Chris Kluwe

Christopher James "Chris" Kluwe (/ˈkluːi/; born December 24, 1981) is a former American football punter and writer. Kluwe played at Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California, where he was a 1999 USA Today High School All-American, and then attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he played college football for the UCLA Bruins. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2005 and played professionally in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, and Oakland Raiders. Kluwe is widely known for his eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, where he set eight individual team records. At the same time, Kluwe became an outspoken advocate on social issues, including same sex marriage and gay rights — which ultimately led to tension between Kluwe, team owners 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. Kluwe was unable to catch on with another NFL team and retired from professional football in 2013. Following his departure from football, he has pursued a writing career, and is a humor columnist for the sports website Deadspin. 2Early career 3High school Kluwe played three years of varsity football for coach John Barnes at Los Alamitos High School in Los 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 also made the USA Today first-team All-American as a punte