Chris Kluwe
writer and former American football punter
Christopher James Kluwe ( KLOO-ee; born December 24, 1981) is an American writer, social activist, politician, and former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the UCLA Bruins before signing with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played in the NFL for the Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings, and Oakland Raiders.
Kluwe is widely known for his eight seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, where he set eight individual team records. During this period, he became an outspoken advocate on social issues, including same-sex marriage and gay rights, which ultimately led to tension between Kluwe and coaching staff.
Kluwe was released by the Vikings after the 2012 season, signed with the Oakland Raiders prior to the 2013 season, and was subsequently released. He was unable to sign with another NFL team, which he attributed to his criticism of homophobia and misogyny in the NFL. He retired from professional football in 2013. Following his departure from football, Kluwe has pursued a writing career and was a humor columnist for the sports website Deadspin. In Fall 2026, he ran for the California State Assembly in District 72 as a Democrat.
Early life
Kluwe played three years of varsity football for coach John Barnes at Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California, and was selected to play in both the California-Texas Shrine game (where he kicked a 57-yard game-winning field goal with no time left) and the CaliFlorida Bowl.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Chris Kluwe” as writer and former American football punter. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as writer and former American football punter. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1077409. VIAF identifies the subject as 305038836. The Library of Congress control number is no2013074750. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1981, 2005, 2012 and 2013.
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This entry incorporates text from “Chris Kluwe” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.