On Friday, the Minnesota Vikings fined wide receiver Troy Williamson one game's pay for missing Sunday's game to attend his grandmother's funeral on Monday. If this isn't the worst story that I have seen in sports in a while I don't know what is. Williamson was fined roughly $25,000 of his $435,000 base salary for this year. Now I know some would argue that he shouldn't have to miss a Sunday game in order to attend a Monday funeral. Some would say that NFL players deal with family tragedies and personal situations all the time. Well think of it this way. Williamson's Grandmother was like a Mother to him. She basically raised him and they were extremely close. On top of that, Williamson was the main organizer of the funeral and needed to arrange travel plans for his brother's as well as some family members in the military. He also has been dealing with a brother who has been in and out of a coma for the last two months. It is not like Williamson didn't inform the organization of his intended absence, he sat down and talked with the organization before he left. He was even quoted as saying: "I don't care if they would have [taken] my pay for the rest of the year, I was going home." Is it really worth the bad publicity to fine a guy who is making less than a million dollars a year? Is it really worth the bad publicity to fine a guy who was just trying to be there for his family in a time of need? This is one of the worst stories I have seen in a long time and it absolutely disgusts me. Do the right thing and give the guy his money back for being there for his family.
Others have also weighed in on this story as well.
Mark Kreidler
Kevin Brown
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Wow, this is the first time I have heard this story and I can definitely say this is the worst case of fining an athlete, for whatever sport and for whatever reason. Family comes first, no matter what, when, where, or why. Give this guy a break. He is making base salary in the NFL, which I might add is a lot of money, but not even close to a LaDanian Tomlinson or a Randy Moss. If all the facts and statistics are correct, then I have lost complete respect for the Minnesota Vikings organization. That’s a shameless act and a cowardly thing to do.
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