Vikings Pro Bowl defensive end Everson Griffen remains away from the team for what coach Mike Zimmer called "a personal matter" after Griffen was involved in a police incident Saturday afternoon.
Vikings' Everson Griffen involved in police incident
Hotel reported defensive end threatened to assault staff.
September 25, 2018 at 11:03AM
"We are aware of the situation involving Everson Griffen and certainly concerned by what we have heard," Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman said in a statement Monday.
Griffen's name was redacted from an incident report released Monday. Police responded to a call from the Hotel Ivy in Minneapolis reporting a man was threatening to assault staff and was lying on the lobby floor, possibly under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.
The suspect "said that if someone doesn't let him in his room that he is going to shoot someone," according to the dispatcher. No gun was seen, the dispatcher added.
Police were on the scene at 1:30 p.m. Griffen, who according to the report had been staying at the hotel, was not arrested and was allowed to leave the hotel.
Griffen did not play in Sunday's loss to Buffalo; he was listed out because of a knee injury.
He was also not on the sideline for the game; when asked about Griffen's whereabouts after the game, Zimmer said, "He's having a personal matter, and I'm going to leave it at that."
On Monday's injury report, his absence from practice was listed as "knee/not injury related."
"We are currently focused on Everson's well-being and providing the appropriate support for him and his family," Spielman's statement concluded.
This is not the 30-year-old's first run-in with the law.
Following his rookie season in 2011, Griffen was arrested twice in three days for public intoxication and driving with an invalid license. The latter incident ended when Griffen tried to flee on foot, only to be Tased.
The Vikings selected Griffen in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, as the 100th overall pick.
Griffen, who has reached the Pro Bowl each of the past three seasons, received a four-year, $58 million contract extension from the team in 2017 that put him under contract through the 2022 season. He was elected a team captain for the third consecutive season in 2018.
Staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this story.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.
