kluwe claims he has plenty of witnesses.tball jocks are competing over who is the least homophobic. and we should all be very proud america has gotten this far. >> as the country moves forward on this issue of equality, football seems to be still pretty backwards on this. and it just shows that there's just not going to be total acceptance in society. now, the assistant coach of the vikings, priefer, released a statement saying that i vehemently deny today's allegations made by chris kluwe. i want to be clear that i do not tolerate discrimination of any type, and am respectful of all individuals. i personally have gay family members who i love and support, just as i do any family member. liz, what's your response to this? i mean, we have -- responding to an allegation. what's your response to that? >> that last line is kind of weird like i love my gay family members just like the other family members. i'm not really sure what that means, as though he would -- they're -- you know, we have purebred dogs and rescue dogs and i l

some of kluwe's former teammates rallied around the coach. "blair walsh "i personally can attest to his character. his professionalism in the workplace is exemplary and i firmly believe my teammates wholeheartedly agree." and announcing an independent investigation into kluwe's allegations. this highlights yet another dark story behind the curtain of america's most popular and most profitable professional sport. joining me now, former vikings punter chris kluwe. thanks for coming on tonight. first question, i guess, is you seem to in the piece you wrote wrestled for a long time about whether or not to go public with this story. what eventually tipped you over and decided to do it? >> well, i knew it was a story i wanted to tell, and one of the reasons why i wanted to wait is because i didn't want to drop that story on my former teammates during season because it would have been a huge distraction for them. and i also wanted to try out for other teams during this year to show i could physically still play in nfl. but apparently, you know, i ca

he told chris kluwe this.ziggy writes the paychecks for a person like chris kluwe. >> if he has a player in the organization he owns, it may not be accepted. he may think it's not good for business. >> let's get to mike. all these comments he said were nasty, that kluwe alleges that he says, anyway were said during special teams meetings. blare walsh, the field goal kicker was in the meetings and says he never witnessed anything like that. he called kluwe's comments reprehensible. it was a he said, he said situation. the only witness is blare walsh and he says look, guys, it never happened. >> do you think these are isolated incidents or there is a pattern? obviously, in major league sports, especially in very high profile, there is a hype masculinity and also discrimination as well anywhere in any profession. >> true and we saw with jason colins in basketball, he came out as the first professional player in a major sports league to do so. will we see that in the nfl? that will be the last league that breaks t

kluwe said he spoke on as a private citizen. being fired after eight seasons with the vikings. the men he calls cowards in his essay would will leslie frazier and current general manager rick spielman. the so-called bigot would be special teams coordinator mike priefer, who kluwe used homophobic language in his presence after he became an advocate for equality. saying things like we should round up all the gays, send it to an island and then nuke it until it glows. priefer has vehemently denied the comments in a statement to the minnesota star tribune. and while the vikings are taking the matter seriously, opening an investigation into the allegations, they have said that kluwe was fired strictly based on his performance on the football field. it's worth noting that he averaged 45 yards a punt in 2012. and this year without kluwe, the team's average fell as did their record. but perhaps the most important part of this story is he has sparked a conversation in a world where normally the conversation is about the next play. so for

kluwe said several team mates witnessed priefer's remarks.gs in a statement said any notion that chris was released from our football team due to a stance on marriage equality is entirely inaccurate. chris was released strictly based on his football appearance. the 32-year-old doesn't think the team as a whole is homophobic, but he can't find a team to hire him. is it not cowardly to do this when you saw it happen? >> if i had done it when i was happening, people are like why are you trying to bring distraction to the team. why are you trying to ruin the team's chances this year. why don't you just be quiet and play? if i wait it's why didn't you say it then? why are you being cowardly now? why didn't you do it then? really my response is because, you know my teammates. >> reporter: so far, none of those teammates have come to his defense. for "cbs this morning," ben tracy, huntington beach, california. >>> now, to this story, the buzz around the electronics show in las vegas is about a real life short circuit. michael bay tried to promote sa

remission is possible. >>> chris kluwe certainly has a way of words. was a football player until i was fired by two cowards and a bigot. he says he was fired because of his outspokenness about same-sex rights. he talked about anderson cooper. >> i didn't start keeping notes until april. it was clear my job was done with the vikings. up until that point, i was under the impression i would still play for them. i had no reason to think they were letting me go. no one ever said they were dissatisfied with my performance. once they did draft a punter, i thought, i need to get this stuff down while it is fresh. >> clhe alleges that mike keife says, we should round up all the gays and send them to an island and nuke it until it glows. he also alleges the former head coach, leslie frazier and minnesota's general manager discouraged his activisms. the vikings say they are now investigating. rachel nickels, anchor of cnn's unguarded and david cornwell, who represents many nfl players, jonathan martin. is kluwe's article on dead spin, are they talking about it wi

the coach has denied kluwe's allegations and said kluwe was cut strictly based on performance and the are taking these accusations seriously and will thoroughly review the matter. >>> today is the shocking upset in last night's sugar bowl. alabama turned the ball over five times in the game! oklahoma scored 35 points off of those turnovers. sooners seal the victory in the fourth quarter and stripping a.j. mccarrccarron. his girlfriend in the stands was stunned. not the way she or mccarron visioned his college career coming to an end. the sooners shock the tide 45-31 in the sugar bowl. it is going to be a really cold game sunday between the packers and niners. i mean, like ice cold cold. the low temperature for the game in green bay sunday night is negative 20 degrees with a windchill somewhere around negative 40! this could actually go down as the coldest game in football history. guys, that is probably the reason why they are still 3,000 short of a sellout for the game. if they don't end up selling the 3,000 tickets by 5:00 eastern today the game is blacked out on tv for the market.

when we come back, chris kluwe says he is paying for speak out about gay marriage rights. he has been fired from the team. he says he was fired because three of his bosses, two were cowards and one was a bigot. >>> liz cheney is ending her senate run. a lot more ahead. in my world, wall isn't a street. return on investment isn't the only return i'm looking forward to. and my parachute definitely isn't golden. [ male announcer ] for some, every dollar is earned with sweat, sacrifice, courage, which is why usaa is honored to help our members with everything from investing for retirement to saving for college. our commitment to current and former military members and their families is without equal. start investing with as little as $50. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money as

the always outspoken chris kluwe interview. and inside the green rush. part one of our special series "gone to pot." the big business and growing bigger of legal marijuana. >>> we begin tonight with cold that can kill and a freeze in parts of the countries for days on end. take a look. this is not antarctica, this is detroit where shipping traffic is caught in ice and temperatures are well below 0. look at that picture. elsewhere, planes are grounded, schools are closed, first responders on emergency footing. other places are warm because the weather pattern couldn't stay put. more from stephanie elam. >> reporter: icy temperatures gripping the united states, coldest in nearly 20 years. the cause, a weather phenomenal known as a polar vortex. it makes temperatures plummet to major lows where you least expect it. just today, it was warmer in anchorage, alaska, than it was in southern cities like atlanta, georgia, and nashville, tennessee. here in minneapolis it hovered below 0 in the double digits but it felt like 40 below 0. this bitterly cold arctic air

chris kluwe told me he thought he would be in the n.f.l. if he was gay, instead of a heterosexual male advocating for gay rights. >> it's a tough one. it makes it tougher for the team in terms of getting rid of someone if they came out as openly gay with a spotlight cast upon the n.f.l. and other leagues. that's the thing with the n.f.l., is that there's so many ways to plausibly get rid of someone that seemed to make sense on the surface, that it would be easy for the team to say "we want to upgrade or go younger or cheaper" it's unfortunate that that is the way it works. the n.f.l. doesn't want story lines not about football. they don't want anyone talking about the team. it's unfortunate, this idea that being openly gay is going to get you considered to be a distraction, which means that head coaches do not want you. that's a perception we need to change. >> the vikings are conducting an investigation into your allegations. was that your goal and have you been cooperating? >> that was one of the goals, to make sure that the truth comes o

some question why kluwe decided to release this letter now. he said for a few reasons. have to deal with this during the season, answering questions about it from week to week. he also said he wanted to prove he could still play in the nfl. the vikings cut him before this season. he had multiple tryouts with other teams. he wasn't picked up but he did get positive feedback about his performance. kluwe says he realizes by releasing this letter his days of playing in the nfl are likely over but he wanted to share a story because he wants the coordinator to never hold a coaching position in the nfl ever again and ideally never coach at any level. he has strongly denied the allegations, claiming kluwe was cut strictly for performance. the vikings take this accusations seriously and will thoroughly review the matter. >>> coming up next, he was "times's" man of the year and had a direct impact on the number of visitors to the vatican. hear how many people visited this new pope, the people's pope. >>> plus, clay aiken and politics. it may be happening. i dbefore i dosearch any

. >> reporter: kluwe names names. he says fraser told him to stop speaking out on this stuff.ut he is targeted in this article by the special teams coach. he claims he said to him i would wind up burning in hell with the gays. he claims in a special teams meeting in november, 2011, we should round up all the gays, send them to an island, then nuclear it until it glows, end quote. kluwe says those statements were followed by a tense relationship between the two, until last spring when he was cut from the team. in a statement, mike prefer denies all allegations and says i do not tolerate discrimination of any type and am respectful of all individuals. i personally have gay family members who i love and support, end quote. as for the vikings, they said today we were made aware of chris kluwe's allegations for the first time today. we take them very seriously and willfully investigate this matter. any notion that chris was released due to his stance on marriage equality is entirely inaccurate. >> let's dig deeper with zig ziegler, co-founder of a website focused on lbgt issues in

when we come back, chris kluwe says he is paying for speak out about gay marriage rights. he has been fired from the team. he says he was fired because three of his bosses, two were cowards and one was a bigot. >>> liz cheney is ending her senate run. a lot more ahead. [ male announcer ] what if a small company became big business overnight? ♪ like, really big... then expanded? ♪ or their new product tanked? ♪ or not? what if they embrace new technology instead? ♪ imagine a company's future with the future of trading. company profile. a research tool on thinkorswim. from td ameritrade. a research tool on thinkorswim. peoi go to angie's listt for all kinds of reasons. to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out

their 7th win in a row. >>> former vikings punter chris kluwe is accusing his teams coordinateert ofti- gay comments while he was on the team. in an earth kell posted on dead spin, he said the coast made several antie-gayle comments in -- antigay comments of an anti gay marriage amendment. he also says that leslie frazier and the current gm encouraged kluwe to tone town his rhetoric supporting gay rights in an effort to reduce distractions. the viggings -- vikings did release a statement after they became aware of the allegations yesterday and they said -- >>> 8:55. san francisco superior court is warning about a fake e-mail. it's supposedly coming from elizabeth taylor spelled differently from the late movie star and the e-mail claims she's a clerk of the court. it also says the recipient has to attend a court hearing january 14th at 11:00 a.m. and should carefully read the court notice in an attachment. the court says there's no employee named elizabeth tailor and you should delete the e- mail before opening the attachment. >>> a man from bake,field who saw a strange charge on his

kluwe, who is straight, has been an outspoken supporter of same-sex marriage.ys vikings special teams coordinator mike prefer made several anti-gay comments and objection to kluwe. he made the allegations in an article he wrote for the website deadspin. the vikings have issued a statement saying the allegations are being taken seriously. >>> 6:18. the winter storm dumping snow on the northeast having a big impact for people trying to get out of the airports in the bay area. details at 6:30. >> just got a minute to talk about it. conference play opening up for pac-12 locally at maples pavilion and in the nba, boy, what the warriors did last night to the heat. you have to see it. >> and what's cool about your school? you can email your nomination to us at coolschools@kpix.com. and we may come out and we may come and feature your school on the show. dragic suns' goran dra- gich set up teammate miles plumlee for e alley-oop. the impressive dunk was good enough for p' the day... but not enough tn the game. the memphis >>> play of the day, the perfect alley-oop. ther

chris kluwe says he was cut by the vikings because he advocated for gay rights in minnesota.t's next. [ male announcer ] this is the story of the dusty basement at 1406 35th street the old dining table at 25th and hoffman. ...and the little room above the strip mall off roble avenue. ♪ this magic moment it is the story of where every great idea begins. and of those who believed they had the power to do more. dell is honored to be part of some of the world's great stories. that began much the same way ours did. in a little dorm room -- 2713. ♪ this magic moment ♪ >>> and this just in. the obama administration is asking the u.s. supreme court to not extend an exemption for nonprofit groups for the contraception coverage. >>> former nfl punter chris kluwe is speaking out about his release saying this it was motivated by his same-sex marriage activism. andy skoelz here with more on this. >> yes. kluwe wrote a letter and it was a strong worded letter that basically documents what happened in the 2012 season and 2013 offseason. it was tiegted "i was an nfl player until i was fired

punter cliff chris kluwe he says that he was fired from his team because it was pro l g b t activism is homophobia a bigger problem in professional sports than in the rest of society and republican hypocrisy on health care reform is costing the economy trillions are hurting and lives of everyday people in the process tell you how it is and i still need to. you need to know this fighters belonging to the islamic state of iraq and syria or isis a group linked to al qaeda have almost entirely taken over. two major cities in iraq ambar province illusia and ramadi iraqi forces and anti al-qaeda sunni tribal leaders that retaken some parts of those cities but the isis fighters are holding straw it was an obvious ten years ago it should be now george w. bush's invasion of iraq was a complete and utter disaster that has made their country a more dangerous and more violent place and a stable democracy in the bush it is pro nice rumsfeld and wolfowitz promised would come after we knocked out saddam that looks as far away as ever instead iraq is once again teetering on the edge of all out civil

any sense of why kluwe decided to write the letter now? for a few reasons that now was the time. he didn't want to do it during the season because he has a few friends on the vikings and didn't want them to have to answer questions about this every week about this situation. he also said he wanted to prove he could still punt in the nfl. he says his numbers were always right in the middle of all the punters, even in the top third of punters in the league. he had tryouts last season and eventually wasn't picked up but he said the scouts still talked positively about his efforts and that he was still a punter worthy of playing in the nfl. finally, he says he wrote this letter now because he wants to make sure that mike priefert never coaches in the nfl again or football at any level. that was one of the main reasons he decided to come out now, especially because of mike prifert, he doesn't want to see him coaching as a role model for football players. >> take a short break on "new day." >>> ahead, nigella lawson is talking for the first time

. >>> the minnesota vikings insisting punter chris kluwe was cut for poor performance on the field notks and asked to tone down his advocacy for gay rights. he said he did come forward sooner because doing so would hurt his teammates. the vikings say they take these accusations seriously and they will thorough review the matter. >>> search and rescue teams in los angeles air-lifting an injured hiker to safety. police say this 18-year-old woman was with friends at a popular waterfall when she slipped and fell and broke both ankles. the woman was taken to the hospital for treatment. that looks like quite a ride. >>> a u.s. automaker about to announce some stung news. details straight ahead. female announcer: female announcer: it's time to make room for the new mattress models during sleep train's huge year end clearance sale. get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempur-pedic mattress sets, at low clearance prices. save even more on floor samples, demonstrators and closeout inventory. plus, free same-day delivery, set up and removal of your old set. why wait for the new models? sleep train'

the always outspoken chris kluwe interview. and inside the green rush. part one of our special series "gone to pot." the big business and growing bigger of legal marijuana. >>> we begin tonight with cold that can kill and a freeze in parts of the countriesor

the always outspoken chris kluwe's first interview since leaving the nfl. >>> we begin tonight with coldnutes. a freeze for big parts of the country.

remember we were just talking about chris kluwe last week who said he was not picked up after he spokeality among gay people in the league. you do have a point there. jami, because you handle sherman's marketing deals, what is the deal now? how many calls are you getting? is it astronomical now? are more people interested in him because of this? >> we've been making noise all season. the brand managers out there have been aware of richard. we've been in those conversations. there have been a few more that have come to the table. i think what you guys have to understand is, these guys play this game at a very high level. the adrenaline, the competitive dna that is flowing in a game like this, i've said this a couple times. if you take a stopwatch and record from the moment he makes the play to hut his team in the super bowl to the moment erin andrews shows up with a camera in his face, it's like 60 seconds. the amount of adrenaline, the amount of emotion, anybody who's played a competitive sport in a championship level knows what it's like to have those emotions running. you know, still

in chris kluwe called them cowards and labeled one of the coaches a bigot.tempted to silence his comments in support of gay marriage. the vikings said any notion he was released from the football team due to the stance on marriage equality is inconsistent with team policy. he was released strictly based on his football performance. >>> the second winner of a mega millions ticket worth $324 million has come forward to claim his prize. he had forgotten he purchased a ticket in san jose, the winning stub was sitting on top of a drawer at his house until he remembered in the middle of the night on monday. if he chooses cash, he'll get $173.8 million before taxes. >>> still ahead on "news nation." >> we bought a format called slow tv from norway. it was the most unique dumbest most ridiculous idea i've seen in my life. i have to have it. >> it is a ratings hit in norway, would you watch hours and hours of a cruise ship voyage or train ride? it is our gut check. i've got a big date, but my sinuses are acting up. it's time for advil cold and sinus. [ male announcer

the always outspoken chris kluwe's first interview since leaving the nfl. >>> we begin tonight with cold that can kill in minutes. a freeze for big parts of the country. shipping traffic is caught in the ice in detroit and schools are closed. traditionally cold places are warm, because the weather pattern makes winter cold. they couldn't stay put. >> icy cold temperatures gripping the united states. the coldest in nearly 20 years. the cause a weather phenomenon known as a polar vortex. it makes temperatures plummet to record lows where you least expect it. today it was warmer in anchorage, alaska than in atlanta, georgia or nashville, tennessee. it hovered around double-digits but it felt like 40 below zero. it's not only one for the record books, but the zero degree chill is downright dangerous. >> about 10 to 15 minutes we're looking at a potential for frostbite. it's extremely dangerous, and we don't want to put them in that situation. >> the cold temperatures forced the closing of schools. affecting more than 840,000 students. cities throughout the nation are making plans to bring ho

remember we were just taunging about chris kluwe last week who said he was not picked up after he spoke inequality among gay people in the league. you do have a point there. jami, because you handle sherman's marketing deals, what is the deal now? how many calls are you getting? is it astronomical now? are more people interested in him because of this? >> we've been making noise all season. the brand managers out there have been aware of richard. we've been in those conversations. there have been a few more that have come to the table. these guys play this game at a high level. the adrenaline, the competitive dna that is flowing in a game like this, i've said this a couple times. if you take a stopwatch and record from the moment he makes the play to the put his team in the super bowl to the moment erin andrews shows up with a camera in his face, it's like 60 seconds. the amount of adrenaline, the amount of emotion, anybody who's played a competitive sport in a championship level knows what it's like to have those emotions running. you know, still here's a guy who's never been arrested,

remember we were just talking about chris kluwe last week who said he was not picked up after he spokegay people in the league. you do have a point there. jami, because you handle sherman's marketing deals, what is the deal now? how many calls are you getting? is it astronomical now? are more people interested in him because of this? >> we've been making noise all season. the brand managers out there have been aware of richard. we've been in those conversations. there have been a few more that have come to the table. i think what you guys have to understand is, these guys play this game at a very high level. the adrenaline, the competitive dna that is flowing in a game like this, i've said this a couple times. if you take a stopwatch and record from the moment he makes the play to hut his team in the super bowl to the moment erin andrews shows up with a camera in his face, it's like 60 seconds. the amount of adrenaline, the amount of emotion, anybody who's played a competitive sport in a championship level knows what it's like to have those emotions running. you know, still here's a gu

. >>> the minnesota vikings says it will be investigating claims that former punter chris kluwe was cut marriage. >>> and it turns out that pope francis leaves a voice mail just like everyone else. the people's pope had a new year's message for a group of spanish nonuns but they didn't pick up the phone. so he left this message -- what are the nuns doing that they can't answer the phone. this is pope francis. i wanted to give you grooe greetings for the end of the year. maybe i'll try to call again later. may god bless you. >>> the u.s. coast guard may soon join efforts to rescue a chinese ship that's become trapped in thick ice off the coast of antarctica. the chinese ship had just airlifted 52 scientists and tourists from another ship when it got stuck. nbc's reporter has been tracking all of this for us. >> reporter: this is getting confusing. the scientists and journalists are now on their way. they have to sail for a few days to an antarctic base where they drop off supplies then the long journey back to australia hoping arriving in mid january. yesterday it looked like there might