Thursday, Oct. 6, could have been the defining day for the 2005 Minnesota Vikings’ season, and they weren’t even on the field.

A boat trip during the Vikes bye week turned into a “sex-boat scandal” courtesy of the team and out-of-town strippers. Reportedly the players and other invited guests paid for sexual favors.

The Vikings organization has already had issues with its image. According to www.scout.com, Vikings coach Mike Tice, “confirmed team ownership and upper management spent a great deal of time at their two-day retreat in Chaska, Minn,” talking about team conduct.

Daunte Culpepper, an all-pro quarterback for the Vikings who is supposed to be the leader of this team, has neither confirmed nor denied whether he was on one of the boats.

According to the Star Tribune, “Culpepper, left tackle Bryant McKinnie, cornerback Fred Smoot, running back Mewelde Moore, all-pro defensive tackle Kevin Williams, tight end Jermaine Wiggins, safety Darren Sharper, running back Moe Williams, cornerback Ralph Brown, wide receivers Nate Burleson, Troy Williamson, Travis Taylor and Koren Robinson” were onboard the boats that night.

Some of the players denied they were on these boats, but one has to wonder if they are covering up so their wives or girlfriends don’t penalize them for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The biggest issue with the Vikings organization, as well as other organizations, is the people who represent them often forget who, or what, they are representing.

Whenever someone puts on a jersey or anything that signifies they are a part of a group, they directly reflect the image of that group as a whole.

For example, if someone at the Northern Star was found on this same “sex boat,” it would be a terrible representation of the Star and would give us a bad image. It also gives a negative light to NIU, the city of DeKalb or the city or state this hypothetical person is from.

The same applies to the Vikings players.

For Minnesota Vikings fans, this incident sheds a bad light on them and they are apparently upset about it. Don Seeholzer of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, in a question and answer session with Vikings fans from several different states, says fans were generally disappointed or appalled by the actions of several accused starters of the team.

Chris, from Wilmington, N.C., said, “The boat incident is yet another black eye for the Vikings’ organization.”

Not to mention the fact the Vikings have been “lobbying state officials for financial assistance for a new stadium” for years, according to www.scout.com.

This incident likely makes the fans and citizens of Minnesota think twice about using tax dollars on an undisciplined franchise that has already struggled with its image.

Tice’s job security has been a hot topic since he replaced current Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green, but this is situation has some questioning if he should be fired.

Bruce from Owego, N.Y., said when asked during the aforementioned question & answer session if it was Tice’s time to go, replied, “Mike Tice shouldn’t have to baby-sit his players, who are supposed to be grown men after all, but this latest incident certainly doesn’t help his job security.”

Bruce makes a good point. These are grown men should know by now all of the decisions they make are going to be scrutinized by those around them, both privately and publicly.

They also should know they represent the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.

If these players and personnel were indeed on this boat and were engaging in paid sexual activities with hired sex workers, they not only disgrace themselves and their families but disgrace the Vikings organization, fans and the Minneapolis-St. Paul community.

Columns reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily that of the Northern Star staff.