Chris Kluwe cut by Oakland Raiders

This is a bummer: Chris Kluwe, one of the most passionate and outspoken gay rights advocates in the history of sports, has been cut by the Oakland Raiders after losing the punting battle to Marquette King. Kluwe tweeted out the news today:

"PoE" refers to the online game "Path of Exile," of which Kluwe is a devotee.

This does not mean Kluwe's NFL career is over. Despite teams having made all their cuts, moves are often made as players get released who could fill a need elsewhere. This is especially true of punters, so someone like Kluwe can still land a roster spot even after the season starts; it happens every year.

I also don't think Kluwe's gay rights advocacy had anything to do with the Raiders' decision, and there is no evidence that it did. For one, he has not been as visible on the subject as he was while with the Minnesota Vikings, since gay marriage was a hot political issue in last fall's Minnesota election and has died down since the June Supreme Court rulings. I think the reason he was cut was performance and money -- both he and King punted about the same during the preaseason, but King was cheaper. He will make $405,000 this season vs. $840,000 that Kluwe would have been paid.

Here's hoping an athlete admired by the LGBT community gets a new gig somewhere else soon.

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