Vitamin OC Episode 2: Former NFL Punter and Activist Chris Kluwe

In this inaugural episode of Vitamin OC, Chris Kluwe, former NFL punter and activist, discusses his journey from sports to activism, highlighting his commitment to LGBTQ rights and civil disobedience. He shares his experiences protesting at the Huntington Beach City Council, the impact of his arrest in February 2025 at one of the city council meetings, and the importance of community engagement in fighting for democracy. Kluwe also announces his candidacy for the State Assembly, emphasizing the need for political change and active participation in local governance.

Takeaways

• Chris Kluwe emphasizes the importance of using one's platform for advocacy.
• He believes that protecting others is also a way to protect oneself.
• Civil disobedience can be a powerful tool for change.
• Community engagement is crucial in local politics.
• Kluwe's arrest sparked increased activism in his community.
• He encourages people to show up at city council meetings.
• Kluwe's journey illustrates the intersection of sports and activism.
• He highlights the need for empathy and understanding in political discourse.
• The fight for democracy requires collective action and persistence.

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Transcript

Welcome to Vitamin OC. I'm Joanna Weiss. 

And I'm Whitney Gomez. Every week we bring you your recommended dose of civics and civilization in Orange County. 

We are so happy to be with you today and we are incredibly excited to bring our first guest on of our new podcast. We are so honored that Chris Kluwe is here. He is a former NFL football player and few people have done as much as he has to bring forward issues that are important to you. And we so appreciate your passion and the way that you have really highlighted our Huntington Beach City Council, which has been doing anti-democratic things. We first met several years ago when Mike Pence was in town for a fundraising trip. And I remember we met because we were protesting his anti-reproductive choice and his anti-LGBTQ stance. We're really honored to have you. 

Thank you for having me on. I'm really looking forward to it. 

Before we get into all of your activism, I want to establish you as an athlete locally. You played for Los Alamitos. You were an all-American punter. And then you went on to play for the Bruins. 

Yep. Full right scholarship. 

You achieved every little boy's dream, well not every little boy, but many, little boys' dreams of going to the NFL. And you were very loyal. You stayed with the Vikings for . . .

Eight years, 2005 to 2012. 

I want to start with just a story that I read about you that I thought was so endearing and kind of without even meeting you gave me a picture of who you are. And that is when Donovan McNabb came to the Vikings from the Eagles and he wanted your number. 

When Donovan came to the team, he had worn number five his entire career. And that was the number that I wore with the Vikings. And so I was pretty sure that he was going to ask me to trade for his number. And normally when guys trade numbers, you pay the other guy for it. So you either buy him a new car or you send him on vacation or something, depending on how much money you have, what position you play.

And I was like, well, I want to do something a little bit different. So I was like, okay, Donovan, you can have my number, but you have to donate $5,000 to the charity that I was working with, which was for muscular dystrophy. And then you have to mention my band - my rock band's name - five times in separate press conferences. He said it all in the same press conference, but he said it like eight or nine times. So was like, yeah, no, that's fine. Yeah. And then, and then he had to get me an ice cream bar. 

Funnily enough, the ice cream bar was the easiest part because in the Vikings facility in the cafeteria upstairs, we had this little freezer that just had ice cream bars. So I was expecting him to just give me one at lunch. It took him, I think it was like three years. 

My goodness. Come on, Donovan!

And eventually, I remember because I was at a Fox Sports thing where they had me on for an interview and Donovan was one of the hosts. I'm like, dude, can you send like an intern or someone to just go grab me an ice cream bar so that I can tell people because they keep asking me on social media, 'has Donovan gotten you your ice cream bar?' So it was pretty good. then, and then I decided that I would take number four as my New Jersey number. So that way in case Brett Favre came back, I could sell him the number. 

Great thinking. 

Yeah, got to plan ahead. 

That's great. So love that. I love that.

You've always been thinking of other people. One of the things that while researching you for this, we realized that in as early as 2012, you had filed an amicus brief in front of the California Supreme Court supporting LGBTQ rights and against Proposition 8, the California constitutional amendment that would have banned marriage equality. What led you to that?

During 2012, that was when Minnesota was attempting to pass their own version of the same sex marriage ban, which would have made a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. And at the time, a group called Minnesotans for Marriage Equality had approached me because they'd seen my Twitter feed and they're like, hey, we think you you might be interested in this, we think you might help out. And so when they talked to me, I was like, you know what, I think I am interested in this. Like, I don't really think we should be enshrining discrimination in the state's constitution.

And then at the same time, I was also like, I'm in a position of power to actually do something about this, right? Like as a current NFL player, I have a platform and for better or worse, people listen to athletes' voices. And if I ever wanted someone to speak up for me, you know, I would expect them to speak up for me. But the only way that works is if I speak up for someone else when I'm in position to do so. So yeah, from there, it just kind of escalated in that it was, you know, I, felt very strongly, still feel very strongly that people deserve a chance to live their life.

Like It doesn't matter who you are, doesn't matter what you look like, it doesn't matter your religion, your sexual identity, your gender identity. Like everyone deserves a chance to live their life. The only way we get that is if we fight for it. 

Amazing. Really appreciate your lifelong commitment to this. 

And the other thing I tell people is like, you can also approach that as a purely selfish point of view, right? Like you can, you, when you protect other people, you are protecting yourself because that makes it so if the government decides to come after a group, if it happens to be your group, everyone else will say, no, that's not OK. You can't do that. So yeah, I would like you to care for other people because empathy is good. But if you do need just a purely selfish reason, protect yourself. Go help other people. 

It is pretty altruistic in your case, though, because I don't think they're coming after the former football player. Yeah, you're pretty safe. 

So it really is that the tall straight white dude is probably last on the list. But the thing is, fascism, that's how it works. They will get to you eventually. Like, you know, they will work their way down the list until eventually they have gotten to everyone. And I have no doubts that by speaking up for equality and LGBTQ rights that I am somewhere on that list. 

It may be because you've used your power to do that your privilege, you have become a target.

Well, you've become a target perhaps, but you also have gotten really good press. And I saw you on CNN the evening of your arrest at the Huntington Beach meeting. And I don't know if you saw the New Yorker article that mentioned you. Let me quote this directly because this came out maybe a week or two after your arrest. And they said about you, 'fueled by (these followers') chaotic energy, Kluwe would run for office in the midterm elections and ride the momentum into the 2028 presidential race.'

The president might be a little quick. 

I thought, wow, you know, at that time, so little was going on. So few people were standing up and you were really out in front on this. So will you talk to us about the Huntington Beach City Council meeting and and kind of what happened when you were arrested? 

Yeah, for sure. Yeah. So for those who don't know, I was arrested for protesting a MAGA plaque in front of the Huntington Beach City Council, who wants to install on our public library. They passed it in the city council meeting. Still hasn't been installed yet. I don't know if they are going to install it, especially because we just beat them on the ballot initiatives protecting our library. But in terms of what was happening . . . so this took place in February and I had been going to city council meetings for about I think two and a half years at that point to speak mainly on the library issues, but also like on the budget and some other stuff. And what I had noticed is that the city council really just didn't want to listen to anyone speaking in public comment. If you talk to other people who attend Huntington Beach City Council meetings, you'll get the same sentiment. It's like, we want to make our voices heard because it's important, but they don't even debate anything. Like they don't take into account what's being said in public comment. Like even when it's tons of people there that are obviously upset about something. And so I knew in this particular case, okay, well, they're not listening to us. They're not going to listen to us. What's the next step? And as a history and poly sci major, the next step is peaceful civil disobedience. And that was also something I'd wanted to see from my elected officials. Again, this is back in February. Not much was happening on the elected official front. Thankfully, some of them are starting to get it and are really starting to put themselves out there and get arrested for doing the right thing, for causing some good trouble. But at the time, I was like, okay, well, if I'm expecting them to do it, I can't ask someone to do something that I'm not willing to do myself.

And so if you need me to show you the way, I guess I got to show you the way. Like I don't really want it to be me, but if, if no one's doing it, I've got to step up and do it. And so, yeah, there was a lot of very positive feedback. A lot of people saying, you know, hey, you gave me a jolt of energy. Like You really inspired me. They felt they weren't getting anything or they just didn't know where to go or what to do. And so, yeah, that was, that was kind of the idea behind it was like, Hey, this is protesting what's happening locally in Huntington Beach, but it is also a microcosm of what's happening nationally around our entire country. Because it's the same MAGA agenda, you know, whether it's local or whether it's national. They want power for themselves. They want to kick out anyone who doesn't believe in the same things they do and frankly, it's an un-American agenda. 

It is and I I think from the New Yorker article you can really see what a dearth of leadership there was particularly at that time and you really stood up. It made national headlines. It's really incredible to think that you brought light to this Huntington Beach City Council that has been doing undemocratic things since they've gained back the majority. But because of that, I think, and the absence of leadership, people really listen to you. Can you tell us about that night in particular and how it transpired and kind of your decision making and what was going through your mind as you were engaging in civil disobedience and being arrested?

Yeah, so when I first so I had written out my speech, normally, it was a three minute speech, but they usually don't give us three minutes. So I cut it down to two minutes. And then at the beginning, Mayor Burns had said, 'Well, we're only gonna give you a minute.' And so was like, Okay, I got to cut down even more. And then he made this big old point of emphasis on 'you better all behave and you know, follow the rules and decorum.' Otherwise, know, this is the dude who keeps getting caught on a hype hot mic swearing at people. He just he just did it last night again. Like this is the seventh or eighth time he's done it. Like he does not care about decorum. He just cares about trying to keep people down. They also got a Brown Act, not lawsuit, but a cease and desist filed against them from the ACLU a couple of days ago. Because again, they'd like to shout down the opposing side and then let their own side run rampant, which is not how a city council meeting is supposed to go. Like you're supposed to be there for the best of the city. Like it's not supposed to be partisan. So anyways, getting back to the meeting. When I first got there, I was like, maybe I was like 70/30 on if I was going to actually like step out from behind the podium or not. And then after I heard Burns' this thing, I was like, okay, yeah, now I'm definitely going to do it. You know, if you're going to make a big deal about decorum while ignoring it, well, sorry, buddy. That's how this is going to go. And then, yeah, gave my speech, stepped up from behind the podium. Cops are on me really quick. I figured they would be. And so the, instant the first guy had his hands on me, I was like, I told him, I'm like, 'Hey, I'm going to go limp.'

So, you let them know I'm going down the ground. see them all kind of pile on top of me. I'm still kind of yelling at the city council at that time. Like this is not how city council meetings are supposed to go. Like why, why are you forcing us to do this? Just listen, please. 

They asked me if I was going to walk out. I'm like, 'no, sorry, you got to carry me.' And so, you know, they figured out the logistics of that and they're carrying me out. Everyone in the stands is cheering. And so on the way out, I shout, remember peaceful civil disobedience. You know, I got another huge cheer. And then once I was outside of the room, I then I went to the cops. 'You can put me down now. Like, I'll walk at this point.' Because again, and I literally told them this, I'm like, 'I don't have any problem with you guys. Like, I'm here for the city council. Like, I'm not trying to make your lives miserable.'

So yeah, so then they frisked me and I just had my phone keys, wallet in my pockets. They took me over to the jail. I spent about four hours and 15 minutes in the jail, and I was released on my own recognizance. And then they charged me with a criminal misdemeanor under, I think it's section 403, disturbing an assembly, I think is the actual penal code. Got a pre-filing diversion. My lawyers talked to the DA who was in charge of the case. And so I had to do eight hours of a conflict management course online, which I've done 20 hours of community service, which I have four hours left there. I've been volunteering at the Shipley nature center. I've been, I've been laying a lot of wood mulch on that. It's pretty heavy labor. So about four hours left on that. And then I just can't get arrested for the next six months. So hopefully I don't get arrested. 

I think you'll be okay. 

Yeah. We'll see. We'll see. But yes, I'm not planning on getting arrested in the next six months.

Well, that was one question that I had for you because it looked to me like you had told the police what was going to happen because they were just right there with you the second you walked out. So you hadn't told them. 

No, I hadn't told them. And I think what that goes to illustrate is how much our current city council is expecting violence from the crowd because they know they're unpopular. And so I've been to other cities' city council meetings. There's usually one, maybe two cops in attendance at most. 

Like in the corner. 

Right. Yeah, exactly. They're not really like visible.

Huntington Beach, there's at least six or seven every day or every city council meeting. And there's always one right by the speakers. There's a couple up in the stands. again, it's unfortunate because that's not how a city council should be run. It's supposed to be a nonpartisan place where you are acting for the best of your community. You're not acting for any specific political agenda. And that's the reason why when you run for city council, you don't run with a D or an R next to your name. You're there to represent the city. You're not there to represent a major political party.

It's unfortunate that our city council has forgotten that. Yeah, it's very unfortunate. they've forgotten a lot of, a lot of things as well. 

So you brought a lot of attention again to the Huntington Beach city council, their undemocratic ways, the things that they were doing, but you also suffered some personal fallout from, from your decision to engage in the civil disobedience. Can you talk about some of what happened there? know you lost your position as a football coach. 

Yeah. So I got fired. was coaching as a freshman football coach at Edison. I've been doing it for about, I think this was going to be my sixth year going into it. Had a lot of fun. it was, you know, basically my wife was like, get out of the house. One of my friends originally invited me cause his son was a freshman that year. He's like, would you be interested in helping coach, you know, the freshman team? I was just like, yeah, I'm not doing anything. Sure. I can go help the coach, the freshman team. And then they just kept asking me to be back. They're like, Hey, are you coming back next year? And I was like, yeah, if you still want me, they're like, yes, please come back. It was a lot of fun because, working with freshmen, it's really interesting in that about half the kids have never actually played football before. So you're really teaching them kind of what the game is about. And I can empathize with that because I didn't start playing football until my freshman year in high school. Like I played soccer and baseball growing up. So when I first started playing football, I had no idea what was going on. And so a lot of these other kids are like that, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're going to be bad football players. just means they have to learn.

And so as coaches, you got to teach him. And it was great where at the end of the year, you see it finally start to click, right? Where the kids are, you know, they're recognizing what they're supposed to do. They're moving with more confidence. And then we pass them off to varsity and we get to start all over again the next year. So it's a little bit of a Sisyphean task, but again, it was a lot of fun. And yeah, I'm just bummed that the school decided that they weren't going to be brave because I mean, It's something we've been seeing in education facilities around the country. I mean, Columbia is a great example of it. Harvard stood up a little bit. And it just goes to show that we need schools that are run by educators that understand the importance of freedom of speech and of being able to talk about political matters versus administrators who are only concerned about the bottom line and making money. Because we've seen what happens when administrators run the programs. And it's what you see happening with Columbia. It's just constant attacks on our educational systems that upset both students and faculty.

And we need, we need better. Okay. So you were arrested. You lost the freshman football coaching position. but there must've been some positive ramifications. And I want to quote you from your New York Times, interview because it's kind of in line with what we're trying to do here on this podcast. We're trying to provide examples for people, people like you who are standing up for democracy, human rights, just literally right versus wrong. Let me just quote you. So you said to the New York Times about your arrest, 'it was done so that people who are watching and people who will watch understand that this is important enough to get arrested for, that it's important to stand up and speak truth to power and to do so in a way that other people can emulate.' And you've certainly embodied that. But talk to us about the positives that have come out of your arrest. 

Yeah, so the positives are like people are very much like, thank you for doing that. We want to hear more, please tell us what do you think we can do from this point forward? So I've been speaking at a bunch of the different democratic clubs in the area. was actually speaking at the Canyon Dems Club last night, which was a lot of fun. So it's good to see that there are a lot of other people out there who feel the same way, who understand that we are in a fight for our democracy and literally for the soul of our country right now, and that they're willing to go out and do the work too. And a lot of them, they kind of needed a spark, right? Like they just, they needed the tinder to be lit. So then that way the flame could start going. And it's really exciting to see them getting invested and being like, I am going out to protest. You know, I am contacting my representatives. I'm showing up at city council meetings, because that's what it's going to take. The civil rights struggle in any era has never been solved by any one individual action, right? Like there are, you know, things that are momentous, you know, that can change the course of events, but there's never any one single action that solves everything. It takes everyone acting in concert, it takes collectivism. And so that's what more and more people are starting to understand. And that's how we're going to get ourselves out of this situation is, you know, we just all have to come together and we have to show this administration that you are hugely unpopular. You don't speak for the will of the American people and you need to stop what you're doing. Otherwise, we're going to have to keep escalating in terms of our peaceful civil disobedience. Because right now, know, it's marches in the street, right? The recent 50501 rallies, the No King's Day, you know, that's, I think it was what, like six or seven million people, like across the nation on the streets. That is a massive amount of protesters. The next step after that is a general strike. So if this administration keeps going, it's like, okay, well, sorry, we're just gonna shut the country down. have fun. Like, no one's gonna show up to work. And like, that's really not good, but it's better than the alternatives. Because the alternatives we're facing are masked secret agents kidnapping people, including US citizens off the street in broad daylight. Like, I don't know how to tell you in any other way that is authoritarianism. That really is the textbook definition of authoritarianism. And this regime is showing no signs of slowing down. So it's up to us to show up and to give our elected officials courage that they seem to be sorely lacking and require that they do the right thing. You know, it's not an ask anymore. Now it's a demand.
You are in a position of power. You are elected to represent us as the people. And right now what that job entails is you standing up against fascism. There can't be any bipartisanship with a group that doesn't follow their oath to the Constitution. And that's what the Republicans are doing right now. They are refusing to follow what the Constitution requires them to do, which is to impeach Donald Trump.

100 % and and actually I had a conversation with one of my daughters yesterday about what ICE was doing here in Orange County. We had some activity in our in our neck of the woods in South Orange County yesterday and my daughter couldn't wrap her head around the fact that people were just being arrested and taken off of the streets. She said well doesn't that go against the Constitution and I said that yes and that's why there are lawsuits against it but it's a really dire time for our country when they are just I was explaining to her It's it's kind of arrest now based on the color of your skin, right? And then they're sorting it out at the detention center. Are you legal? Do you are you do you belong here? But they are arresting people without proper warrants. They're absolutely not following the law. Do you have any suggestions for what people can do general citizens our listeners or viewers of what tangible actions they can be taking to hold power to account, to be standing up against their administration. 

Yeah, no, that's a good question. I get that a lot too at the speaking events. like the most basic, like fundamental one you can do is show up to your city council meetings. Like that's, if you show up to your city council meetings at least like two or three times, you're going to notice kind of who's who in terms of the repeat people that show up and speak on stuff. And that's a really good way to get involved in your local community because everything starts at the local community level. That's how I started. When I first went and spoke at the city council meetings, like I didn't know anyone there. And then I got to know the people at Protect HB. And then that really kind of snowballed into, like they're in contact with other groups that are protesting what's going on. And so yeah, just getting involved on the local level, just show up. You don't even actually have to speak at your local city council meeting. Just be there and witness what's happening. And if you're lucky, it'll be really boring. That's what city council meetings are supposed to be like. If you're unlucky and you live in someplace like Huntington Beach, they might be really exciting. You trust me, you do not want exciting city council meetings. So yeah, show up, talk to people there, form local connections. And then from that point, figure out what it is that you can do. Like I'm not expecting normal everyday people to do the same thing that I did, because that's, it's not fair to them. Not everyone has the same resources that I do. Not everyone has the same privilege that I do. I expect it from my elected officials because that's their job. But everyday people, no, like you don't have to go out and get arrested. I mean, if you're feeling like you want to do that, please talk to a lawyer beforehand and make sure you understand the consequences of your actions and what might happen. So that way you can make an informed decision. I'm not going to say no, don't do it. Just make sure you understand what's involved in doing it. But yeah, for everyone else, you can canvas, you can phone bank, you can write postcards, you can contact your representatives. You can even provide supplies. Like if you want to show up at a protest, but you're nervous about carrying a sign or something like that, just bring a bunch of water. know, it tends to get hot out there. People forget to bring water. You'll make a lot of friends. And a lot of it is, again, just develop those local community interactions, develop those connections. And then from there, if something happens, you know who to talk to. You know other people you can rely on. 

Thank you for that. Those are all great suggestions. Joanna and I have been wondering what's next for you. 

What's next for me is taking care of my kids. And then I actually just announced at the Canyon Dems last night that as much as I don't want to be a politician, I actually am declaring for the State Assembly seat for District 72. So I will be running for that. 

Well, you heard it here second. 

Yeah, right. I haven't made any big official announcement yet because I'm still getting the logistics in place. Right. I have a call with a woman who hopefully will be like the treasurer for the campaign that I got to find a campaign manager and stuff like that. I talked to the OC Dems and because I wanted to make sure I wasn't stepping on anyone's toes. Right. Like I want to be as effective as I can be. But if that means not running for office, then I'm perfectly happy not running for office. But I've had a lot of people ask me, when are you running for office? So I was like, okay, you know, there are a lot of people saying they're willing to get out and organize and knock doors and stuff. And feels like it would, it would not be smart to not take advantage of that, right? Like it's especially if we can flip a red district, which 72 generally is. It's been democratic in the past, but that's been Diane Dixon's seat on for the past couple of years. And then it's usually gone Republican before then.


I grew up in Seal Beach, like that's part of that district. And I know there are a lot of like small C conservatives that live there. My dad's one of them. But these are not necessarily people who are on board with the MAGA agenda. And a lot of them are starting to realize, shoot, like this agenda is actually really bad for our business. This is not good. And so I think there is a real opportunity, especially considering that Diane Dixon isn't running again. She's stepping down to run for superintendent (sic: Supervisor) against Katrina Foley.

One of the challengers might be Gracey Van Der Mark, who is one of our Huntington Beach city councilors, who is the architect of the failed book ban committee and the attempts to privatize the library. She's really bad news. We don't need to give her more power because we've seen what she does when she has power and it's not good for the city. It won't be good for the state. Really, it's only good for Gracey. I don't think we should be electing officials who are only in it for themselves. Like you should not want to wield power if you're going to hold political office.

Exactly. I 100 % agree. Well, thank you for putting yourself out there. We so appreciate it. And when I saw that she had declared for that seat, that terrified me. That is not someone that we need to elevate into power. So grateful to you for throwing your hat in the ring there. And we just want to thank you again. 

You're an incredible role model. We really appreciate your being here. We're so excited that you're running for office.

And to our listeners, thank you for joining us for your recommended dose of civics and civilization in Orange County. And we'll see you next time.