I'm through with the Vikings

I am dismayed by the apparent decision of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins to refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19. His willingness to jeopardize the future best interests of the Vikings and their fans by putting his own health at risk is not a wise decision. It may well be offensive to God's will.

I was once an avid Vikings fan. Sunday afternoons centered around their games, chips, hot sauce, a good beer and the company of a good friend. That ended after I heard and then authored the Minnesota Supreme Court's opinion in the case dealing with the death of lineman Korey Stringer.

That opinion describes the negligent disregard the Vikings exhibited for Stringer's well-being, a disregard that resulted his death. What transpired with respect to Stringer was so disturbing that for years I could not bring myself to watch a Vikings game.

The team did institute some reforms, which allowed my interest in the Vikings to return, especially during Brett Favre's first year with the Vikings. That renewed interest was short lived, however. It ended quickly during the New Orleans playoff game when the New Orleans coaches, enabled by incompetent referees, promoted a vicious on-the-field assault upon Favre.

Upon seeing the assault, I immediately turned off the TV. Condoned excessive violence like this is not entertainment.

Professional football can be interesting and entertaining. There are many talented players and people connected with the game. My former colleague on the court, Alan Page, immediately comes to mind. Unfortunately, Kirk Cousins does not currently to fit into this category.

The apparent failure of this $31 million salary-cap player to be vaccinated is unwise and demonstrates a profound lack of loyalty to his teammates and Vikings fans. I am unable to find rational scientific, philosophical, theological or ethical grounds to support his decision.

Cousins is a native of Holland, Mich., and a graduate of Holland Michigan Christian School, a legacy he shares with the likes of Betsy DeVos and her brother Erik Prince. Holland has a strong Dutch Reformed Christian tradition dominated by postmillennial evangelical fundamentalist thinking. This may explain, in part, Cousin's apparent refusal to get vaccinated. Many who share these religious beliefs believe it is against God's will to get vaccinated and that God will protect them from COVID-19. One of my dear cousins held this belief. She refused to be vaccinated. This spring she died of COVID-19. Her death was so sad and unnecessary. I still mourn her passing.

What Cousins and others like him fail to comprehend is that God is protecting us. God has given humankind the ability to discover, within a very short time, a vaccine that protects us from this deadly disease. I believe that it is God's will that we accept this gift and get vaccinated. It is wrong for us not to accept God's grace.

Cousins' decision has caused me to reassess my interest in the Vikings. I ask why should I once again invest time and loyalty in a team whose franchise player is so willing to toy with that loyalty?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian executed by the Nazis said, "Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice." He said we are often defenseless against stupidity because stupidity is deaf to reason and pushes facts aside, treating them as inconsequential.

Cousin's apparent decision to refuse being vaccinated is not evil, but it is so unwise. My only defense against such a lack of wisdom is to no longer invest any time, effort and loyalty in being a Vikings fan. Until Cousins changes his mind, I bid him and the Vikings adieu.

Paul H. Anderson served as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court, 1994-2013.