Viking GM Defends His Team

The frequency of drunk driving arrests among Minnesota Vikings players is more a credit to the state’s intolerance of drinking and driving than it is a reflection of the team’s approach to alcohol, general manager Mike Lynn said Tuesday.

Lynn’s comments came a day after the arrest of Keith Millard on charges of drunk driving and speeding. It was the 12th such incident involving a Viking player in the past four years.

“I don’t think our players here are any different than on any other team,” Lynn said. “I’m not saying this in a negative way. Our players have got to understand that this is a unique state, and if they go out to a bar and drink they better not drive.”

Lynn said that if the Vikings were in any other state they probably wouldn’t be reported to police by bar patrons or bar employees the way they are in Minnesota. Three of the team’s 12 drunk driving arrests were linked to such reports, Lynn said.

Millard, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, was arrested after an officer clocked him at 73 m.p.h. in a 40 m.p.h. zone. He was charged with drunken driving after refusing to take a breath-alcohol test.