Tag: Eric Sugarman

Former Vikings call out fired athletic trainer Eric Sugarman

Not everyone was sad to see Sugarman go

It would seem as if not everyone was surprised by the recent firing of Minnesota Vikings longtime head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, who was drafted by the Vikings in 2017, raised eyebrows with a tweet after hearing the news that his former team was moving on from the trainer after 16 long years.

His tweet appeared to be aimed at those attempting to paint Sugarman’s tenure with the team in a positive light. The trainer’s exit even elicited a public statement from Owner/President Mark Wilf. And yet, according to Odenigbo, there is more than meets the eye with Sugarman.

“Eric Sugarman was not a good man so what ever narrative you guys think of him it’s been fabricated,” tweeted Odenigbo.

Former Viking and current Michigan Panther for the USFL, Jeff Badet, shared Odenigbo’s post and added explanation points in a retweet.

It would seem as if Sugarman isn’t leaving his job in Minnesota on good terms with everyone. If there truly was an issue, Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell deserve a lot of credit for weeding it out and moving their football team in a more positive direction.

It’s out with the old and in with the new in Minnesota.

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Longtime athletic trainer Eric Sugarman fired by Vikings

The first tough decision in the Adofo-Mensah/O’Connell era

The first tough decision by the new regime for the Minnesota Vikings is the firing of longtime athletic trainer Eric Sugarman.

Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune reported the news on Monday.

According to Goessling, the decision came down with Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell “putting together their plan for the future of the team.”

That plan obviously didn’t include Sugarman, who had been with the team for the last 16 years.

He took on the job back in 2006 after serving as an assistant athletic trainer for both the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles. So his work in the NFL extends as far back as 1997 before he came on as a head athletic trainer for the Vikings.

This couldn’t have been an easy decision for Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell considering the long history Sugarman has with the team. However, it does show a willingness to do what needs to be done in hopes of getting the franchise back on track.

“I am tremendously grateful to the Vikings and the Wilf family for the opportunity to spend 16 years in Minnesota and am proud of our collective efforts to keep players healthy and at their peak performance during that time,” Sugarman said in a statement, via Goessling. “With the added role of infection control officer over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, I took very seriously the responsibility of extending that same level of care to all Vikings staff members. My wife, Heather, our sons Jake and Ben are happy to call Minnesota home. We look forward to the open road ahead.”

More tough decisions are ahead for the new regime with free agency right around the corner.

With the team currently positioned at $15 million over the salary cap, we could see some surprise cuts or outright releases in the coming days.

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Vikings head athletic trainer says the team has zero positive tests

“We’ll be ready and prepared to play on Sunday,” Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman said, via the Vikings.

The Vikings’ Week 3 opponent had players and staff test positive for coronavirus.

The Titans — the team that had positive tests — and the Vikings both ended up suspending in-person activities.

The Titans-Steelers game on Sunday has been postponed, but Minnesota received some good news this week about its chances of playing: the team has zero positive coronavirus tests, according to Athletic Trainer Eric Sugarman, via the Vikings Twitter account.

“We will return to the facility tomorrow as a team and we will return with very enhanced protocols.” Sugarman said Wednesday, via the Vikings Twitter account.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman added more about Minnesota heading to Houston for Week 4:

“We’ll be ready and prepared to play on Sunday,” Spielman said, via the Vikings.

Vikings announce WR Justin Jefferson, three other rookies to be placed on reserve/COVID-19 list

The three other Vikings rookies placed on the list were offensive linemen Blake Brandel and Tyler Higby and safety Brian Cole II.

Training camp is set to start for the whole Vikings roster on Tuesday and their first selection in the 2020 NFL Draft will not be able to report. The Vikings announced on Monday afternoon that wide receiver Justin Jefferson will be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The three other players placed on the same list were offensive linemen Blake Brandel and Tyler Higby and safety Brian Cole II.

The Vikings also announced earlier on Monday that the team’s head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman has also tested positive for COVID-19. The four rookies placed on the reserved/COVID-19 list did not have any contact with Sugarman. 

Jefferson is going to have to play a key role on offense this year with the loss of wide receiver Stefon Diggs, the Vikings’ leading receiver in 2019 who was traded to the Bills. It hasn’t been confirmed if Jefferson is quarantining due to exposure to the virus or if he tested positive. As ESPN’s Adam Schefter pointed out, it doesn’t mean they have it; they may have just been exposed to it.

This will be an interesting storyline to follow as the regular season approaches. Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer spoke to the media on Saturday afternoon and talked about how he has battled through adversity several times since arriving in Minnesota. This year seems no different.

Vikings announce head AT and team’s Infection Control Officer Eric Sugarman has tested positive for coronavirus

The Vikings also said that Sugarman will continue to fulfill his role as the team ICO virtually as much as possible. 

Minnesota announced that the team’s head athletic trainer, Eric Sugarman, who’s also the Vikings’ Infection Control Officer in the battle against COVID-19, has tested positive for coronavirus.

Sugarman is the Vice President of Sports Medicine, too. Members of Sugarman’s family have tested positive, according to the Vikings. Sugarman said in a statement that they are experiencing “mild symptoms.”

The team said in a statement that Sugarman did not have recent contact with players and that no additional cases within the Vikings front office have been identified at this time.

“Eric immediately shared his results with the organization and began to follow the previously established comprehensive protocol created by the NFL and national and local health experts,” the Vikings said in a statement. “Eric and his family are currently in self-quarantine and providing daily updates on their well-being.”

The Vikings also said that Sugarman will continue to virtually fulfill his role, as much as possible, as the team’s ICO.

Minnesota Vikings’ head trainer, family test positive for COVID-19

Head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman of the Vikings and his family have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Another example of how rampant the COVID-19 pandemic comes from  Minnesota on Monday as the Vikings announced head team trainer Eric Sugarman and his family have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Per the team’s website:

We learned over the weekend Minnesota Vikings Head Athletic Trainer and Vice President of Sports Medicine and the team’s Infection Control Officer Eric Sugarman, along with members of his family, tested positive for COVID-19. Eric immediately shared his results with the organization and began to follow the previously established comprehensive protocol created by the NFL and national and local health experts. Eric and his family are currently in self-quarantine and providing daily updates on their well-being.

We have followed the team’s protocol for sanitizing the facility and for notifying any personnel who may have been in close contact with Eric. Those individuals have been tested and are returning under the established guidelines. Eric has not had recent contact with players, and no additional cases within the Vikings front office have been identified at this time.

Eric will continue to fulfill his role as the team’s ICO virtually as much as possible, and his athletic training staff and other Vikings personnel will assist where necessary. We wish Eric and his family a quick and full recovery and look forward to him returning to the Vikings when appropriate.

The health and safety of every member of our organization, our fans and of the broader community is paramount. We encourage everyone to take this virus seriously and to practice the established precautions.

“This weekend my family and I tested positive for COVID-19,” Sugarman said in a statement on the team website. “We immediately quarantined and began to follow the established protocols. At this time we are all doing fine and experiencing only mild symptoms.

… “At this time I am taking care of myself and my family and am focused on their health and recovery. I will return to the Vikings and my role after following the proper protocols.