EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer began his Thursday press conference by refuting a report that he had slaughtered stuffed animals last week as part of a motivational ploy.
When the Vikings returned from their bye week, Zimmer had placed stuffed animals around the team's headquarters as a reminder to players not to be "fat cats" after a 5-0 start. Someone in the locker room later cut the throats of several stuffed animals and applied red paint to them.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported on Monday that Zimmer was the one who slit the animals' throats, but the paper later corrected the report after a statement from the Vikings.