Getty
Vikings broadcaster Paul Allen is facing calls to resign after a comment he made about the ICE protests in the Twin Cities-area.
The play-by-play voice for the Minnesota Vikings for 24 years, Paul Allen is facing calls to resign after a comment made about the ongoing ICE operations and corresponding protests in the Twin Cities.
According to numerous accounts on social media, Allen posited that protestors are being paid for their opposition against ICE’s presence in Minnesota, a conspiracy in right-wing spaces. Thousands of protestors have come out in frigid temperatures in action against the immigration enforcement operations happening around the state. Demonstrations have grown in the aftermath of Renee Good’s death during an operation on January 7.
On Friday, January 23, Allen “handwaved the protestors” are paid, according to a Redditor on r/minnesotavikings subreddit. Allen’s station, KFAN FM 100.3, scrubbed the post-released podcast of the on-air comment, according to the Redditor. A second ICE shooting occurred Saturday morning, after Allen’s alleged comment, sparking more civil unrest.
Hundreds of listeners have corroborated a similar message on social media. Another Redditor on r/Minnesota shared a screenshot from the studio’s text line that shows producer Eric Nordquist saying, “Yes, he referenced that some of the protestors are paid.”
Awful Announcing found the audio from the live broadcast, which revealed Allen speaking about the weather and asking, “Do paid protestors get hazard pay?”
The station did not answer a phone call from Heavy for comment about the incident.
Fans on various social media platforms have called for Allen to resign from his position.
Vikings Fans Call for Paul Allen to Resign After ICE Protestor Comments
In several areas of social media, fans voiced their displeasure with Allen’s commentary amid the turbulent times in the Twin Cities.
The moderators of r/minnesotavikings opened a thread to discuss the matter after removing several posts that violated the subreddit’s rule against political commentary. A moderator wrote that the thread was made given “people tied to the organization may make statements or share opinions” about politics.
The top comment detailed the forum’s removal of a post commending Vikings Ring of Honor member and former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page for his support during a mass protest and general strike on Friday.
“What’s insane is how easy it would be for PA to just not say anything,” one comment read. “Compare that to Alan Page, who was out protesting while looking like a regular person. Meanwhile PA has to take an opportunity to use his reach to disparage his fellow Minnesotans and push a conspiracy theory. If Paul wants to believe that shit, that’s his right, but this is a huge overstep.”
“Was that guy shot 10 min. ago outside the donut store a paid agitator,” another commenter pleaded, referring to the Saturday shooting.”
“PA needs to resign or apologize,” another Redditor said, echoed by a follow-up comment: “PA needs to resign AND apologize.”
On r/Minnesota, a Redditor wrote: “PA is proud of his Christian faith, but he seems completely clueless about how a Christian should act during times like this.”
A Threads user tagged the Vikings, urging the organization to “dump Paul Allen.” Another user threatened to stop listening to KFAN and “boycott the advertisers who fund his hate and ignorance.”
Paul Allen Responds to ICE Protests on Social Media
While Allen has yet to address his comments on air, he maintained a presence on X, sharing several messages about the ongoing struggle in the Twin Cities.
I have to stop watching all this for a little bit. I’m so sad this terror is happening all around us here in MN. I just prayed to God’s will for it to somehow stop and now and started crying,” Allen wrote. I truly am sorry for all hurting like me through this, and I just want us to be a Love Covenant again. Truly. Let’s all pray this stops somehow because it’s awful. And no more cheap one-liners from me.”
Fans were overwhelmingly not accepting of the apology.
“Resign, Paul. Minnesota does not want to hear from you ever again,” one fan responded.
“Was Alan a paid protestor, Paul,” another fan asked, referring to Page.
“Paul, I think you have been on the wrong side of this issue….and I don’t mean political sides,” a fan wrote. “More like what Jesus would be actually saying/doing at a time like this. But you’re probably hearing that nonsense in and around church. Hope you figure it out man. Rooting for you.”
“Paul, I’ve been a fan of yours for decades. You’ve really disappointed me,” another fan wrote.
Trevor Squire is a sports journalist covering the NFL and NBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Minnesota Vikings, Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. Trevor studied journalism at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities, making stops at the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @trevordsquire. More about Trevor Squire
Browns Face Stiff NFL Punishment for Not Making ‘Mockery’ of Rule
Cleveland Browns co-owner Jimmy Haslam talks with General Manager Andrew Berry
The Cleveland Browns appear to have the weekend off in their chase for a head coach to replace the fired Kevin Stefanski, and there is some mounting frustration with a process that seems to have exposed holes in the organization and the more general feeling that no one really wants this head coaching job. To make matters worse, the three candidates who went through with their interviews are all white, putting the Browns in violation of the NFL’s Rooney Rule.
To take a step back, the Browns never got consideration from what was believed to be their top candidate, John Harbaugh, who took the Giants‘ head-coaching job without engaging much with Cleveland. Then, after a round of video-link first interviews, the Browns compiled a list of six candidates to interview in person for the job. But two of the six–ex-Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter–withdrew from consideration.
Minter is the new coach of the Ravens, replacing Harbaugh. McDaniel is taking the Chargers’ offensive coordinator job, though he is also still a candidate for the newly opened Buffalo Bills job. Veterans Jim Schwartz and Todd Monken interviewed already, and 30-year-old Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski interviewed Friday.
Browns Rooney Rule Violation Stems From Mike McDaniel Decision
Still on the candidate list is Rams passing game coordinator Nate Scheelhaase, who is a minority and is expected to interview after the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. McDaniel is a minority, too, which means the Browns had planned to comply with the Rooney Rule, which says that teams must do in-person interviews with two minority candidates. But because McDaniel pulled out, the Browns are on a collision course to violate the rule.
The NFL can hit the Browns with harsh penalties if they do, including a fine and the docking of draft picks. It’s potentially a very harsh penalty. But it’s only happened once before, in 2003, when the Lions hired Steve Mariucci and paid a $200,000 fine for the Rooney Rule violation. Detroit did not lose draft picks.
Still, that was 23 years ago. There’s no telling how the league office will react to the Browns’ situation now.
The Browns’ options are, first, to proceed with its interviews, make a hire in violation of the Rooney Rule, and plead with the NFL that McDaniel pulling out foiled their plans. The second option is to scurry to find another candidate to interview, though everyone will know it is not a candidate the team is seriously considering. That would demean the spirit of the rule.
GettyMike McDaniel, formerly of of the Miami Dolphins, pulled out of an interview for the Cleveland Browns job.
Browns Still Could Bring in Another Minority Candidate
Longtime Cleveland reporter Jason Lloyd said on, “The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show,” that the hand-wringing and pearl-clutching over the Browns violating the Rooney Rule is way overblown. Bringing in a token candidate would be worse.
Said Lloyd: “For people to say, like, ‘I can’t believe they’re this far in and they’re not even Rooney Rule compliant.’ Well, yeah, because they’re trying not to make a mockery of it, guys. It just bothers me that people are looking at this like, ‘Can we just bring a Black guy from Walmart off the street and talk to him to get that out of the way?’ It’s incredibly insulting.”
‘Sham Interview’ Makes Mockery of Rooney Rule
Lloyd went on to say that the Browns will most likely just proceed, perhaps hire Scheelhaase, then face the punishment from the league. The fact that McDaniel was on the list and the team was ready to proceed should mitigate the damage.
“Andrew Berry is not going bring somebody in on a sham interview just to check a box,” Lloyd said. “If you hire Scheelhaase, if that’s your guy? And you don’t bring in a second guy? Just pay the fine.
“Are they really going to strip you of draft picks just because you hired a minority but you didn’t interview a second one? Why would you do that to—I will just put his name out there—why would you do that to Raheem Morris? To bring him in and humiliate him? I think the Rooney Rule is a good thing, but when you get into situations like this?”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney