See above a detail of a screenshot from ESPN's video report on the anonymously sourced Chicago Sun-Times story. The story claimed Minnesota Vikings players don't like coach Brad Childress. (Credit: ESPN, YouTube)

Minnesota Vikings players dismissed the Chicago Sun-Times’s article claiming that Vikings players wanted their head coach Brad Childress fired, the Minnesota Star-Tribune reported.  Childress is the head coach of the National Football League team, the Minnesota Vikings.

The article was attributed to six anonymous sources, reported to be team members with the Vikings, the Star-Tribune noted.  The article also attributed information to a “team source” and dated interviews.  The sources claimed Childress criticizes players and “has no people skills.”

See The Sun-Times story here.

The story, headlined “Vikings say they won’t lie down despite dislike for Childress,” reported that Childress lost Vikings owner Zygi Wilf’s support after putting Randy Moss on waiver. (iMediaEthics recently wrote about the Minnesota Star-Tribune’s apology for publishing fake quotes attributed to Moss’s agent.)

Anonymous players are quoted as saying, among other things that :

• ”We know that Childress doesn’t have our backs, so why should we have his?” We’re playing for us, and we’re winning despite him.”
• “As much as I hate Childress, I will keep playing.”

In response, Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams said he doesn’t know if the claims are legitimate because the complaining players aren’t named. “That’s just all reports,” the Star-Tribune reported Williams said. “Ain’t no names. … So I really don’t pay no attention to that. That’s all he-say, she-say stuff. They ain’t going to put no names out there, so I don’t know if it’s true or not.

“That’s like somebody [spreading a rumor about me], but they don’t have to tell me who said it,” Williams is quoted as saying. “If somebody starts that rumor, [people are] going to believe it. So that’s how it is. That’s all rumor.”

Another Vikings player, defensive end Jared Allen, reportedly told the Star-Tribune that he hasn’t read the story but heard about it. “If you’ve got something to say, say it,” Allen said. “If not, there are some things that should be kept in-house. There’s some things that you guys [the media] don’t need to know about.”

Vikings quarterback Brett Favre also criticized the rumors, noting that he “has no problems with Brad,” ProFootball Talk reported.

iMediaEthics has written to the Chicago Sun-Times asking for comment about the accusations.  We will update with any response.