Stringer Family Rips Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are trying to exploit the current anti-ephedra climate -- and the recent death of Baltimore Oriole pitcher Steve Bechler -- to try to deflect blame for the heatstroke death of Pro Bowl tackle Korey Stringer, attorneys for the Stringer family said Wednesday.

The Vikings, facing a $100-million wrongful-death lawsuit, filed documents last week saying that Stringer’s death could be linked to his alleged use of dietary supplements containing ephedra, a substance some experts call “legal speed.� Bechler died Feb. 17 from heatstroke complications, and a Florida medical examiner said his death might have been linked to an ephedra-based supplement.

“It’s no coincidence that the Vikings have made this unfounded charge now, hoping to seize the headlines concerning Steve Bechler’s death to distract from the clear evidence of wrongdoing by Vikings coaches, trainers, and physicians,� the Stringer lawyers said in a statement written on behalf of the player’s family. “It is shameful and despicable for the Minnesota Vikings to exploit Steve Bechler’s tragic death and the ensuing controversy surrounding ephedrine to distract from the overwhelming evidence that Vikings coaches, trainers, and physicians were responsible for Korey Stringer’s death.�

Although supplements were found in Stringer’s locker on the day he collapsed, his blood was never tested for the presence of ephedra.

Viking attorney James O’Neal denied the franchise was trying to make any such connection, and said the papers filed last week were a response to a motion filed by the Stringer attorneys two weeks earlier seeking to throw out the supplement argument.

“We only made this filing because the plaintiff raised the issue in a filing,� O’Neal said. “The evidence has been known to the plaintiff all along, and the evidence is there.�