Minnesota Vikings players can laugh about training camp once the long practices, team meetings and strict hotel rules are in the rearview. Few tales, though, involve an angry head coach, hotel smoke and a pair of veteran linebackers running their own investigation between practices.
Two Pro Bowl linebackers recently shared the case on their “Bent Outta Shape” podcast, recalling the morning their head coach stormed into a team meeting after hotel staff reported someone smoking on the third floor. He had everyone staying there stand up, then warned the room that smoking in the hotel was like smoking inside his house.
The head coach’s fury instantly gave the players a mystery to solve, or at least something to break up the grind of camp. The two defenders built a suspect list, assigned themselves good-cop and bad-cop duties and started questioning teammates around the facility. The guilty parties had apparently underestimated how bored NFL players can get during training camp.
Mike Zimmer sparks Minnesota Vikings’ ‘Bluntgate’ investigation
Eric Kendricks gave the scandal its name when he laughed and said, “Bluntgate.” Anthony Barr remembered the room’s reaction. “And he’s like, ‘Everyone on the third floor of the hotel, stand up.’ And we’re like, ‘Oh my god, what happened?’” Anyone who played for Zimmer knew a camp hotel complaint wasn’t going to go unaddressed.
Kendricks said training camp monotony made the case too good not to have fun with. “What better way to break up camp besides have a list of suspects under investigation?” The linebackers worked the bit from the practice field to the weight room, catching teammates while their guard was down and turning a coach’s rage into camp entertainment.
Barr and Kendricks had enough standing in Zimmer’s locker room to pull almost anyone aside without the joke falling flat. They kept the investigation moving between practices, lifts and position meetings.
Kendricks made the routine even funnier by praising a suspect’s practice before demanding an alibi: “Where were you last night at 7 p.m.? Were you smoking in the hotel room?” Some players laughed. Others stumbled through denials, which he treated as an admission.
Barr said their board eventually shrank to two or three players. “They were guilty,” he said. “I’m not going to tell you who it was.” Kendricks kept the names to himself too, so those teammates shall remain anonymous.
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