3:35pm: This unfortunate situation appears to have ended on a positive note. The Vikings released a second statement regarding Griffen, indicating the veteran defensive end came out of his home peacefully and is now receiving care (Twitter link).
11:45am: We have a developing story on Vikings DE Everson Griffen. Early Wednesday morning, as Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune writes, Griffen posted to Instagram screenshots of text messages he sent to his agent, Brian Murphy. Those messages asked Murphy to call 911 because “people are trying to kill me.”
Around 3am, Griffen called police himself and requested assistance. He told the dispatcher that he had fired a round and that someone was with him, but police later said that no intruder was found and no one was injured.
Per the news release from the Minnetrista PD, which Lou Raguse of KARE 11 tweeted out, the police and Vikings staff members have been in contact with Griffen, but Griffen has refused to come out of his home. However, officers are confident that Griffen is alone in the house.
The team issued the following statement:
“Vikings representatives and the team’s mental health professionals have been on-site at Everson Griffen’s home since early this morning and are cooperating with law enforcement. Our only concern at this time is the safety and well-being of Everson and his family. We will have further comment at the appropriate time.”
Head coach Mike Zimmer did not offer any insight on the matter, saying, “the only thing I can comment on is for health and well being for [Griffen’s] family” (Twitter link via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press). When asked whether Griffen was safe, Zimmer replied that he did not know. GM Rick Spielman will offer further updates at some point today (Twitter link via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com).
Today’s events evoke memories of September 2018, when Griffen was involved in several bizarre incidents that led to his absence from the team for a few weeks. The soon-to-be 34-year-old later revealed in April 2020 that he lived in a sober house from October 2018 through the end of the 2018 season, and while he indicated that he was not diagnosed with a serious mental health issue like bipolar disorder, he was continuing to speak with a team of therapists, clinical psychologists, and a life coach.
He ended up earning a Pro Bowl bid in 2019 before opting out of his contract with the Vikings and splitting the 2020 season between the Cowboys and Lions. He returned to Minnesota in August, and he has been productive this year. In nine games, he has posted five sacks and has played well enough to regain his old job as the club’s starting RDE. He has started the last six contests, and while Pro Football Focus considers him a middle-of-the-road contributor overall, his 79.0 pass rush grade is a top-five mark among edge defenders.
Cronin was among those to tweet about Griffen’s social media posts before full-length pieces were published and the police report was released.
Kind of scary considering this is not the first time this has happened with him. Hopefully everything is ok and stays ok for him going forward.
I truly hope that he finds the help he needs. Mental illness is no joke and is a nightmare to deal with.
The amount of praying I am doing right now is insane
not sure what’s worse – if it’s paranoia or he’s correct. hope everything turns out okay.
How is a guy with known mental health issues allowed to still have a gun?
cuz america
because not every “mental health issue” is created equal.
That’s an easy out. Multiple run-ins w/ the law, but he mental history is just good enough to still have a gun? According to Wiki, he was first arrested in 2010 for public intoxication and the list goes from there. 11 year history isn’t enough evidence to suggest ‘Hey maybe he shouldn’t have a gun?’?
it isnt an “easy out” because it’s true in some cases. Im not Griffen’s psychiatrist, but neither are you.
Did I claim that? Nope. But every single article about his arrests use mental health issues. So maybe he shouldn’t have a gun. Again an 11 year history just in Minnesota using mental health issues for his actions.
So I don’t really deal with Wiki… I mean to be honest I just changed his signing date with Dallas, helped him on his 40, and did wonders for his Wonderlick….
Digging a little deeper it appears the issue is that he was never charged. Everyone wanted to cut the young man a break, so he ended up in a sober house where it was discovered that he lacked coping skills. How ironic that he does not know how to deal with adversity meanwhile all everyone does is remove adversity from his life.
I am willing to bet something personal happened to him and this is how he has been trained to ask for help.
I get the hesitancy to agree with wiki. But here’s an article from ESPN on Sept 25, 2018 where E Griffen threatened to shoot people in a hotel.
link to espn.com
This is not a one off case for the guy threatening or using guns.
AND again…. no charges were filed. Police found no gun, no arrests were made, and league officials found “discrepancies” between the report and what actually happened.
You need to take 20% off the top and chill with your agenda. In the video he clearly states that the weapon is registered to him, which means he passed the federal NICS check and Minnesota systems and commitment information. Turns out the young man has never been charged with anything other then public intoxication (CA).
Also, he may own a firearm illegally. It happens. A lot.
he could, but that’s speculation at this point, as is that he has a disorder.
That’s a different story all together. And I have thought of that during this debate.
“Known mental health issues” is not the same thing as “serious mental health issue”, which at least as of 2018 he apparently didn’t have. I don’t use guns and I don’t know gun laws but I do know that there is a lot of gray area in what constitutes a “serious mental health issue” and what doesn’t. Every individual is different.
Really now there’s a difference between ‘known vs serious’ mental illness now?
Having mental health issues doesn’t immediately make you a threat. Mental health has a slew of different ailments. You can’t desciminate.. Well I mean you are/will but that’s not right in the least. It also shows you have a fundamental misunderstanding of mental health
Never claimed to be a doctor on the subject. But when a repeat offender has mental health issues over a decade long, then maybe he shouldn’t own guns.
But to clarify my point, if your neighbor had long history like this guy for mental health issues, and shot at your home, I’d bet you be asking the same question as me. “why does he have a gun?’.
What constitutes a “repeat offender” in regards to undiagnosed mental health issues?
Gun laws vary from state to state, but disorderly conduct is not grounds to revoke a civil right in any of them (Gun ownership is, as one of many Constitutionally guaranteed rights, a civil right). Griffin would, in most states, need to have been a felon convicted of a violent crime, a stalker, domestic abuser, or have been diagnosed with a mental disorder that has propensity for violence. As long as there is no conviction, you can’t take away his option to own a weapon just in case.
Does he own a car?
I’m very surprised a former Marine would ask this question. The mental issues such as PTSD among those who served in Afghanistan and Iraq is well documented but no one is demanding they surrender their constitutional right to bear arms.
So the bigger question is how does anyone with a history of mental illness legally have a gun.
I looked it up and Minnesota uses The federal NICS check and Minnesota systems and commitment information. Mental health is a part of the background verification.
Well Minnesota failed then. Because he has police records for mental health issues in the state and is still allowed to have guns?
Because he hasn’t been diagnosed with anything and hasn’t been convicted of a qualifying crime to lose that right. The media may report “mental health issues”, but without legal conviction of a crime, that’s effectively just speculation. There needs to be concrete reasoning to take away any sort of Constitutionally guaranteed right in a court of law, whether we think it’s appropriate or not.
I’m glad those cops didn’t shot him dead which is the usual cop response to a mental health crisis. And before you throw shade my immediate family is full of cops. I didn’t sign up because I couldn’t stand their social attitudes. Of course, I’m the “odd” one, the “outcast.”
Cops usual response to a mental health crisis is to shoot the person dead? Hilarious that you think that. I’m glad you didn’t decide to become a cop you seem to have poor critical thinking skills.
Someone with poor critical thinking skills would fit right in with the rest of the police force.
Beast you suck wow
You suck too. Punk
must be pretty miserable to be you. add me to the list of people praying for you as well.
Once knew someone on Bi-Polar meds. They were “normal” on the meds but complained constantly about the side effects (tired and a bit foggy).
This person went off their meds once and a couple days later starting shouting a bunch of nonsensical stuff at someone who didn’t even work in our area.
Scary stuff.