Chris Kluwe names witnesses who can back up anti-gay claims against Mike Priefer

The lawyer for former Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe has named the witnesses who can back up anti-gay claims against Mike Priefer.

Kluwe wrote in a scathing op-ed published earlier this month that he was fired from the team by special-teams coordinator Priefer, whom he called a "bigot," and two "cowards": then-head coach Leslie Frazier and general manager Rick Spielman.

Kluwe alleged that Priefer made several anti-gay comments in the course of objecting to his advocacy on the issue of marriage equality and quoted Priefer as saying during a team meeting, "We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows."

Priefer immediately and "vehemently" denied the charges. The Vikings responded by hiring outside counsel to investigate the claims.

Kluwe's lawyer, Clayton Halunen, on Saturday said that Kluwe identified kicker Blair Walsh and long snapper Cullen Loeffler as witnesses during a 5-hour meeting with investigators on Friday.

Halunen told the Pioneer Press that text messages from Walsh can corroborate Kluwe's allegations.

The messages reference Priefer's disparaging comments, Halunen said.