Vikings WR Jordan Addison apologizes for reckless driving citation
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Vikings held their first walk through of training camp on Wednesday at TCO Performance Center in Eagan, and Jordan Addison spoke after for the first time about being cited for reckless driving last week in St. Paul.
Addison was pulled over on Interstate 94 near the Dale Street exit just after 3 a.m. on July 20 after being clocked at 140 miles per hour in his Lamborghini SUV. That’s nearly triple the posted speed limit of 55. Addison issued an apology after the team’s walk through.
"I just want to reiterate that I take full responsibility and full ownership for my actions last week. It's never a good thing when KOC (Kevin O'Connell) or Kwesi (Adofo-Mensah) have to address questions or answer questions about me off the field, so I just want to apologize to everyone for that," Addison said.
In the citation, Addison told state troopers he was driving 140 miles per hour because of an emergency with his dog. He declined to go into more detail on Wednesday.
"I can’t really get into too much details about what happened, it’s still a legal matter. But I acknowledge that I used poor judgment and I made a really poor decision that I’ll definitely learn from and I’ll make sure it won’t happen again," Addison said.
Addison was in contact with Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell and GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah immediately after the incident. O’Connell reacted on Tuesday.
"Really what I was focused on was more making sure he knew that it was a serious thing. He needs to make sure he understands exactly what he did wrong. No matter what the why may be, things like that can’t happen again," O’Connell said. "Regardless of whatever may have happened to cause him to drive that fast, it’s just not something that can happen again. I have 100 percent confidence in Jordan, I still feel very strongly about the type of person and player we added to our team."
Addison says he’ll learn from his experience.
"Just making better decisions, I made a poor decision and I’ll learn from it. I know what to do now, moving forward I’ll make sure that’ll never happen," Addison said.
Wide receiver Justin Jefferson said after practice Wednesday the team is there to support him.
"We’re with him every step of the way. Just like when I came in, Adam was that person for me that took me under his wing, showed me the ropes and taught me how to be a professional. That’s that role that I’m playing with him. Anything that he needs, I’m there for him," Jefferson said.
The Vikings chose Addison with the No. 23 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He showed flashes at rookie mini camp, then stood and watched OTAs and mandatory mini camp due to an undisclosed injury. He declined Wednesday to say what that injury was, but he’s healthy now.
It’s not clear if Addison will be fined or disciplined for last week’s traffic stop, but he’s fortunate it ended the way it did.
"I’m just blessed to be out here on the field, being able to be here with my team. They showed a lot of support as I came back in, right now I’m just trying to make sure I’m in a good head space, keep working and keep getting better at my craft," Addison said.