MVN - Most Valuable Network

His Uncle Dead, A Viking Defensive End Pleads for Justice

“Hi, my name is Otis Grigsby. I’m a member of the Minnesota Vikings, and I’m telling you this because…I want to help raise awareness towards something that recently happened to my family, and to a family member of mine. My uncle, Lernard Grigsby…was murdered by an Illinois State Police officer.”

Otis, a defensive end for the Vikings, spoke those chilling words in a video that was released on YouTube in late April. Looking directly into the camera, he argued to an audience of thousands that the death of his uncle was an instance of law enforcement officers taking their power too far.

Lernard Grigsby of Crest Hill, Illinois was pronounced dead on the morning of April 28th after a police officer fired two shots at his abdomen. Police were responding to a domestic disturbance call at Stateville Correctional Center near Joliet, where Grigsby was employed as a correctional officer. He allegedly became violent towards the officers, and attempted to grab a weapon from one of the officers. When this happened, one of the responding officers fired his shots.

At least, that’s the official story. While this account of the incident has been reported in such publications as the Chicago Tribune (click here for the Tribune’s article), the Grigsby family would beg to differ with that version of the story.

“They [the officers] responded to a domestic call, and basically, they wanted him [Lernard] to do something that he didn’t want to do, which was come outside. He wanted them to come in, and they dragged him outside. They beat him. There’s evidence of this because he had internal bleeding.”

Why did Otis decide to release this video?

“He’s always been a person first and football player second,” said Otis Grigsby Sr., the father of the Viking defensive end, in an interview with Vikings War Cry. “If he makes your team, he’s a tremendous person.”

According to Grigsby Sr., someone asked Otis Jr. to remove the video from YouTube because there was concern for the player’s safety; Otis Jr. complied, but the video had already catalyzed a passionate response from people on both sides of the issues of police brutality and racial profiling.

Grigsby Sr. was unaware of Otis Jr.’s intentions to speak out on YouTube, but is proud of the courage his son displayed by releasing the video. “I turned him over to independence a long time ago. He’s not afraid.” says Grigsby Sr. of Otis Jr.

“They beat him, and when he fought back, [one of the officers] shot him in his back. Shot him multiple times. My uncle was unarmed and unable to defend himself from gunshots, just like anyone else. Somehow, he made it to the hospital. Honestly, I really thought he was going to survive, I thought that he would make it. But…that didn’t work out.”

“What they reported isn’t correct,” said Grigsby Sr. when asked about his brother’s death. “I’m asking for an investigation.” He described Lernard as a giving person who regularly traveled from Chicago to Louisiana to aid his sister in caring for an autistic niece.

“From the time he was a kid, all he did was fight for rights,” Grigsby Sr. continued. “He was just a big-hearted person.” According to Grigsby Sr., Lernard was heavily involved in his union at the prison and traveled to Jena, Louisiana to show support for the Jena Six and participate in demonstrations.

Grigsby Sr. says he wants to set the record straight for people who believe his brother was the type of person who would “attack [the officers] simply when they got there arguing with him in his room on a morning when he was supposedly ready to go to sleep. There’s just more to this than that.”

“When my son came out with the video, he explained it the way I view it,” said Grigsby Sr.

Grigsby Sr. has sent out his story to various political figures in the state of Illinois. “I can’t see why the people I sent [inquiries about the shooting] to wouldn’t react, but if they don’t, then I’ll go to sleep tonight, wake up tomorrow and think of something else.”

“People need to know if [this story] is not covered correctly, then Lernard would have died in vain. Some things will hopefully come out in an investigation.”

He continues, “I have forgiven situations like this before and I will continue to forgive them…Mercy is something that we all get, but justice comes later.”

“Part of why I feel like I need to say something…is that this is not an issue that just hits my family. This is an issue that hits so many people. These things happen so many times. And if you actually pay attention to the things going on in the cities around you, these things do happen. And it needs to stop. These things happen, and people who do them get away with it.”

Both Grigsby Sr. and his son clearly believe that there are plenty of lessons to be learned from Lernard’s death.

“If profiling and things like that are taking place…then that’s what this is all about, to reveal the light,” said Grigsby Sr. “The internet has brought down many people.”

Furthermore, Grigsby Sr. echoes his son’s sentiment that “we need to scrutinize more how we hire” when it comes to law enforcement.

Why did Otis Jr.’s video attract so much interest? (Over 50,000 people have viewed it, at last count.)

“I just think it’s a movement,” said Grigsby Sr. “And I don’t think you can stop it — we can’t stop it anyway — so people should tell the truth, and I think people identify with [this story] because so many people have experienced it and are frustrated.”

When people viewed this story on the internet, “they could tell, I think, something genuine,” said Grigsby Sr.

“Someone who shoots another man in his back who is defenseless and unarmed should not walk this earth a free man. It just shouldn’t happen. You shouldn’t be allowed to enjoy freedom, you shouldn’t be allowed to experience life. This is a privilege, this society that we live in. Just because someone gave you a badge and a gun…you don’t have a right to do that.”

In the end, it is hard to predict if anything will come of the public comments by Otis Jr., and now his father. Still, one is left suspecting that the media reports haven’t told the complete story of Lernard’s death.

Regardless of your feelings about the issues raised by the Grigsbys, the request for an investigation seems entirely reasonable. As a member of the Vikings, Otis Jr. is one of ours, and his family deserves the dignity of knowing the truth about this shooting.

Vikings Notes: Media Talk, Kitna’s Annual Prediction

*Thanks to everyone who has suggested some article ideas…but, of course, the more ideas we get, the better! If there’s something you want us to write about during this slow period for the NFL, drop us a comment.

*Check back this weekend for an update on the death of Otis Grigsby’s uncle…I’ve been in contact with his family, and am currently preparing an article about the incident that will be posted by Saturday morning, at the very latest.

*TMZ tracked down some pretty funny pictures of Randy Moss “getting acquainted” with Miss Kentucky USA at a Kentucky Derby party. For me, the most disturbing part of these pictures isn’t the fact that Moss decided it would be a good idea to bend Miss Kentucky over and grind against her backside while a photographer snapped pictures — no, the most disturbing part is Randy’s strange-looking eyes in the second picture.

*Say what you want about Patrick Reusse, but I’ve always enjoyed his columns. Reading his articles brings back memories of listening to my grandpa rant semi-coherently about the follies of the Twin Cities’ sports scene…indeed, of all the folks who work for the Star Tribune’s sports department, Reusse’s certainly one of my favorites.

His column in Thursday’s paper is quite noteworthy because it discusses an extremely important issue in today’s sports media: As we progress further into the electronic age, what will become of newspapers?

The public can take or leave another Reusse column after roughly 8,000 of them, But if the Minnesota sports addicts don’t have Seifert, Zulgad, Christensen, Neal, Russo, Scoggins and Zgoda (to name a few) to get them the news, there will be a significant void.

And don’t kid yourself:

A doesn’t-cost-a-nickel, stand-alone Internet site is not going to have the quality of resources the Star Tribune has mustered for a rich sports section that lands on a doorstep.

I both agree and disagree with Reusse’s argument. On one hand, the access that beat writers possess for their particular teams can result in some great in-depth pieces that delve into the lives of the athletes on our favorite squads. Take, for instance, Judd Zulgad’s profile of Jaymar Johnson…in all honesty, Rusty, Chris and I would not have been able to write an article like that about Johnson, simply because we don’t have necessary access to provide such a thorough look at Johnson’s background and character.

However, locker room access is both a blessing and a curse. Here at Vikings War Cry (and every other Vikings blog), our complete and utter lack of access to the team gives us the ability to rip anyone we’d like, simply because we don’t need to concern ourselves about having our access revoked if we’re too harsh. Beat writers need to remain cozy with the squad they cover, and thus cannot provide unfiltered commentary of that team.

So, on the matter of newspaper reporting vs. internet reporting, Reusse is half correct. Beat writers will continue to be valuable, even as blogs continue to gain prominence in the sports media scene. Meanwhile, those of us without access to the team can provide pure, uncensored thoughts without fear of facing consequences from the franchise.

Bottom line: Although he makes good points about the value of newspaper reporting, Reusse is dismissing independent internet commentary far too easily. There’s room for both entities in sports media…I think we’ll be able to coexist.

*You’ve gotta love Jon Kitna. He recently made his annual unrealistic prediction for the Lions’ upcoming season, telling the USA Today, “We will be disappointed if we don’t win 10 games, because that will mean we’re not in the playoffs and that sucks.” So, you heard it here first: The Lions, and not the Packers, will provide the Vikings with the toughest competition for an NFC North title.

A suggestion to Kitna — shut your trap, stop making predictions that the perennially hopeless Lions will inevitably fail to achieve, and let your game do the talking.

As long as Matt Millen’s running the show in Detroit, the Lions will be nonfactors in the divisional race. Millen makes Kevin McHale look like Theo Epstein, and could hardly be more incapable of building a playoff-caliber team.

*Rotoworld reports that the Vikings will give Tyrell Johnson a chance as a nickel cornerback during training camp. This makes quite a bit of sense, as Marcus McCauley and Charles Gordon both experienced growing pains at the position last season. While this obviously isn’t Johnson’s natural position, this spot on the depth chart should be considered wide open, so it’s unsurprising that Johnson will be given an audition during training camp.

Thank You!

One big problem that I have with a lot of sports reporters/columnists is that they don’t thank their readers nearly as much as they should. After all, if no one read them, they wouldn’t have a job.

That being said, I wanted to send a big thank you out to all the readers of this site. We were the 12th highest-read site on MVN (which has a ton of sites) for the month of April. In the seven months that I’ve been writing for MVN, I can’t remember this site getting ranked that highly. Although I can’t remember what I did last week, either, so…you know (just kidding).

We (myself, Anthony and Ryan) work pretty hard to keep you informed and entertained on all things Vikings and to know that you guys are actually checking it out (whether you love it or hate it), that means a lot to us.

And keeping with the “good vibes” theme of this post, I wanted to pose a question to all you faithful readers: What would you like us to write about?

As I said in my review of Green Bay’s offseason, this time of year marks a dead zone for NFL activity and for people like Anthony, Ryan and myself (i.e. people with no actual access to the team), story ideas can be hard to come by.

We’ll try our best to keep the stories coming, but sometimes there are stories out there that people want to read that we just plain don’t think to write. That’s where you come in. If you have an idea, make sure to post it in the comments section. If it’s a cool idea, we just might write it up for you guys.

Either way, thanks again. We really appreciate your interest in what we do.

Offseason Review, Part One: The Green Bay Packers

Yes, yes, I know this is a site dedicated to all things purple and gold. But since the time period between the end of the NFL Draft and the start of training camp marks a sort of dead zone for league activity, I figured this would be the perfect time to analyze how the other three NFC North squads did in their respective offseasons.

By offseason I mean how each team did in both free agency and the draft. I hate when writers give teams free agency grades and then give teams NFL Draft grades. It’s ridiculous. You have to look at the whole of a team’s offseason. Some teams put more focus on free agency while others find the draft more important.

Now that I’ve explained my criteria, what better place to get this going than with the defending division champion Green Bay Packers?

Enjoy.

Green Bay Packers

Quick refresher: Finished the regular season with 13-3 record, second best in the NFC; earned a first round bye; defeated the Seattle Seahawks 42-20 in an NFC Divisional Game at Lambeau Field before losing the NFC Championship Game to the (eventual World Champion) New York Giants at Lambeau in overtime by a 23-20 count.

Where they were heading into the offseason: A team that fell oh-so-short of reaching the Super Bowl, the Packers - the youngest squad in the NFL last season - looked to have very few holes to fill heading into the offseason. The green and gold needed to get a little younger at both cornerback and offensive tackle, for starters. Al Harris and Charles Woodson are perhaps the best corner tandem in the league, but both are on the wrong side of 30. Ditto for starting tackles Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher.

Tight end was also an area ripe for upgrade. Donald Lee had a breakout year in 2007 but Bubba Franks was either injured or ineffective for most of the season. For coach Mike McCarthy to be able to run more two tight end sets (as he’d probably like to do), the team needed to find a replacement for Franks.

Another big question mark was the future of defensive tackle Corey Williams. Williams had totaled 14 sacks for Green Bay over the past two seasons but was headed for free agency and some wondered if the Packers would pay big money to a rotational player.

The final question that need solving was whether or not quarterback Brett Favre was finally going to hang it up. Even if he did, though, the Pack seemed to be set at the position as they had been grooming Aaron Rodgers to take over QB duties for the past three seasons.

What happened in free agency: GM Ted Thompson answered the Williams question before free agency even started, first by placing the franchise tag on him, then trading him to the Cleveland Browns for a second round pick.

The Favre question was answered shortly after free agency began as the former three-time NFL MVP decided to finally call it a career. Mass confusion ensued in Green Bay. Mass parties ensued in the Twin Cities, Chicago and Detroit.

Outside of those two moves, however, the Packers did not do much in free agency. Not surprising, as Thompson is a notorious hater of the free agency period. The team made its only free agent move well after March 1 when it signed linebacker Brandon Chillar (St. Louis) to a two-year contract.

What happened in the draft: Green Bay became the youngest team in the league because Thompson is an avid believer in building through the draft. This year, he focused heavily on offense, using seven of the Packers’ nine picks on that side of the ball. Surprisingly, two of the team’s three first-day picks did not target major areas of concern as Green Bay selected wide receiver Jordy Nelson (Kansas St.) and quarterback Brian Brohm (Louisville). The Packers did get younger at cornerback, however, as they selected Patrick Lee (Auburn) in the second round.

Green Bay got what it hopes to be its tight end complement in round three when it selected Jermichael Finley (Texas). Other interesting day two selections include tackle Breno Giacomini (fifth round, Louisville), a player who could be groomed to replace Tauscher someday, and quarterback Matt Flynn (seventh round, LSU), a player who could serve as the team’s third-string quarterback this season.

Where they are now: The Packers were the youngest team in the league last season and Favre’s (at least for now) retirement - coupled with the team’s lack of activity in free agency - all but ensures they will hold that title again this season.

Nickelback and No. 2 tight end needed to be upgraded and Thompson and McCarthy, by using high picks on Lee and Finley, are going to - at least at first - leave the job to a pair of rookies. Could work well, could be a disaster.

And by drafting Brohm and Flynn, the organization is pretty much telling Favre that they are ready to start a new era, one that he will not be a part of.

The team didn’t really address offensive tackle so it must believe Clifton and Tauscher can stay healthy and get the job done for another year. They also didn’t really address defensive tackle after trading Williams, so the Packers must think their rotation from last year will be okay without him. For that to happen, last year’s first round pick, Justin Harrell, will have to make a big jump in year two.

All in all, the Packers had a solid - but not great - offseason. The team didn’t make any big moves (much to the chagrin of some fans who were hoping the Packers would make a play for a big name or two to really put them over the top), instead keeping with the steady-as-she-goes approach that has defined the Thompson era. Considering the results thus far, it’s kind of hard to argue with the man.

Offseason Grade: B