Former Vikings Pro Bowl quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has been suspended from his role as head coach of his alma mater, Miami Northwestern High School, for giving "impermissible benefits" to his players. This comes amid a Florida High School Athletic Association investigation.
Bridgewater, who led the school to a state championship last season in his first year as coach, made a post on Facebook last week where he asked for donations to the program, citing significant personal out-of-pocket spending on his team. He said he paid for things like training camp, apparel, feeding the team, recovery trucks, field maintenance, and Uber rides for players, among other expenses.
In a new Facebook post on Monday, Bridgewater acknowledged the suspension and made it clear that he doesn't plan on going anywhere. He also said he self-reported the payments to the school.
"The suspension came from MNW and it’s impossible to suspend someone who doesn’t work for you," wrote Bridgewater, who coached last season as a volunteer, not an employee of the school. "So if I'm suspended from MNW I'm free to go to another school of my choice but I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE. And if it comes down to it, I will volunteer from the bleachers like I used to in 2018 and 2019 when no one had a problem."
Many on social media on Monday have commented on the questionable morality of Bridgewater being suspended simply for spending his own money to help the kids — some of them underprivileged — on his public high school team.
Bridgewater, 32, was drafted by the Vikings in the first round out of Louisville in 2014. In his second season, he made the Pro Bowl and led Minnesota to the playoffs. He then suffered a major knee injury prior to the 2016 campaign, but bounced back and went on to have stints with the Saints, Panthers, Broncos, Dolphins, and Lions. In late December last year, he came out of retirement and re-joined the Lions to serve as Jared Goff's backup.
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