Why are the Minnesota Vikings supporting Michael Floyd’s bogus excuse for recently testing positive for alcohol?
Based on the fact that the Minnesota Vikings have had 18 of their players since 2000 get arrested for DUI, one would think that the franchise should know how to properly handle these types of situations by now. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case.
Vikings wide receiver Michael Floyd is scheduled to appear in an Arizona courtroom this Monday after violating the terms of his house arrest by testing positive for alcohol on June 11. He had just five days left on his 96-day house arrest sentence.
Floyd has denied he purposefully consumed any alcohol and has instead settled on an excuse that involves him drinking multiple bottles of kombucha tea during the span of a few hours. Since kombucha is a fermented tea, it is known to contain trace amounts of alcohol.
But based on Floyd’s B.A.C. on June 11 (between .044 and .055) and the ridiculously high amount of kombucha he would have had to consume in order to reach those levels (around 1,100 ounces), the wide receiver’s story is just not that believable.
Surely the Vikings do not think that Floyd’s excuse is the truth, right? If only life were that simple.
On Saturday, it was reported that Minnesota has written a letter in support of their receiver and his claims of tea sabotage with the hope that it will help support his case during his upcoming court appearance.
Not only do the Vikings express their belief for Floyd’s excuse within the letter, they actually admit to encouraging him and other players to drink it as well due to the tea’s benefits for the human body. So Minnesota is openly admitting to encouraging a player who has had two DUI arrests in the past six years to drink something that is known to have alcohol in it.
Yes the men on their roster are adults (technically), but the Vikings organization is supposed to do their best to provide their players with the resources that can give them a greater chance to succeed. If the team nutritionist was unaware that kombucha contains alcohol in it, then he or she has a committed a disservice to the team by allowing Floyd to have access to it.
Minnesota Vikings
Whether he wants to admit it or not, Floyd has a problem with alcohol (alcoholics are usually the last ones to admit this). Even a drop of an alcoholic beverage can set off a dangerous reaction for someone who cannot control their urges.
"“People are very susceptible to the power of suggestion. If it’s suggested that there is alcohol in this beverage, and they drink it and they’re okay, then they could drink something else and be okay, and that can be really dangerous.”– AA spokesperson"
When Floyd first arrived in Minnesota a few weeks ago for the team’s OTA practices, he seemed in good spirits and was believed to be on the right track to recovery. But did the Vikings sabotage his recovery efforts by providing him with kombucha? Could it have resulted in the receiver thinking he would be fine if he had a few beers or a glass of wine one night?
Perhaps Minnesota knows they played a part in Floyd’s positive alcohol test and are now trying to make up for it by writing recommendation letters to help with his legal situation?
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Whatever their reasoning for writing the letter may be, the Vikings do think that they are helping their receiver. But in actuality, their support of his excuse is really only hurting him.