The Minnesota Vikings say Everson Griffen is now “getting the care he needs” after a worrying incident that began early Wednesday.
Griffen, 33, had called 911 and issued pleas for help on Instagram during the middle of the night, saying someone was in his house and trying to kill him. The Minnetrista Police Department said law enforcement officers and mental health professionals with the Vikings arrived at his home around 7 a.m., where for hours they worked to bring the situation to an end.
That afternoon, Griffen left his residence “without incident,” according to the Vikings, “and is now getting the care he needs.”
The team, after thank the agencies involved in the response, added: “Our focus remains on Everson’s health and safety and providing the proper resources for him and his family.”
The Minnetrista Police Department has not provided an update as of 3:45 p.m.
Read the original story from Wednesday morning below.
Original story
The Vikings say team representatives and mental health professionals have been at Everson Griffen’s home since early Wednesday, following a series of worrying late-night posts the defensive end posted on Instagram.
“Our only concern at this time is the safety and well-being of Everson and his family,” the team said in the statement, issued around 10:30 a.m. “We will have further comment at the appropriate time.”
Statement from the #Vikings pic.twitter.com/9jARTVVCor
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 24, 2021
The 33-year-old Griffen shared multiple messages to Instagram stories overnight, in which he said people were trying to kill him and that he needed help. That included a short message he wrote on his own, as well as screengrabs of a text conversation he sent his agent at 3:12 a.m., which he captioned: “Help at 3:12 I need my agent help help help.”
Griffen also published a 30-second video in which he suggests someone might be trying to kill him while brandishing a gun.
The posts have since been deleted.
According to the Minnetrista Police Department, Griffen called 911 just after 3 a.m., saying someone was in his home and he needed help, according to a news release. He also told police he fired a weapon but that nobody was injured.
The police department said law enforcement officers and mental health professionals with the Vikings have been at Griffen’s home on Hardscrabble Circle since about 7 a.m. He has been communicative, the department said, but as of about 10:30 a.m. still refuses to come out of the house.
Police said they are “confident” Griffen is alone in the home, and “continue to work with him to resolve the situation.”
The Vikings said they are fully cooperating with law enforcement.
Head coach Mike Zimmer said during a press conference Wednesday he got word of the situation overnight and addressed the rest of the team earlier this morning.
“We’re only concerned about his well-being,” Zimmer said. “He’s been with us for a long time.”
Griffen, who returned to the Vikings during the offseason after a year with other teams, has been open about his struggles with mental health since a 2018 incident at Hotel Ivy in Minneapolis.
He received a mental health evaluation and took a hiatus from football, returning weeks later after addressing his “personal health.”
In 2020, he told NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero the incident was an “eye-opener,” and that he spent the rest of that 2018 season living in a sober house.
