Social media left divided over fired NFL exec’s decision to take paternity leave: ‘You don’t take two weeks off’
After the Minnesota Vikings officially canned general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, reports about some personal decisions he made regarding his family have left some fans and NFL executives surprised.
Adofo-Mensah was fired on Friday after four seasons at the helm of the NFC North team less than one year after singing a multi-year contract extension.
Reports don’t point to a single reason why he was sacked, but further revelations have found one decision he made regarding his family as against the grain among other similar people working in the league.
According to The Athletic, Adofo-Mensah decided to take two weeks of paternity leave after the birth of his child in 2023.
He took this leave, missing two weeks of training camp meetings and practices. However, it was noted that he did work remotely in that time.
But it left some league executives and coaches in ‘disbelief’, according to the outlet’s NFL insider, Dianna Russini.
Fired Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah took paternity leave in 2023
The revelation comes days after Adofo-Mensah (second from left) was fired from his job
The Vikings went 9-8 this season and missed out on the playoffs after an injury prone year
‘In an NFL culture where many players, coaches, and executives proudly acknowledge missing the births of their children, taking time away to care for a newborn and support a partner remains uncommon,’ wrote Russini.
However, while this struck many within the NFL as odd, the Vikings did not have any issue with this decision and it is not being viewed as a reason for his firing.
Russini further discussed the decision on her own social media account:
‘There’s been a lot of conversation around Kwesi Adofo-Mensah taking paternity leave, largely because it’s still rare in the NFL. But it’s important to note that the Minnesota Vikings supported him through the entire process and did not hold it against him in any way.
‘This was a storyline outside of the building, not inside it.’
Fans on social media were divided down the middle – with some believing that Adofo-Mensah showed a lack of dedication to the job, while others think it was important for the father to be in his son’s life from the beginning.
‘FFS this is not a Kwesi problem, it’s an NFL problem. Too bad those guys hate their families,’ wrote one fan in favor of the GM taking leave.
Another supporter wrote, ‘This says more about the NFL than it does him.’
Adofo-Mensah put up a record of 43-25 with the Vikings over the course of four seasons
‘I mean good for him. Was this supposed to be a knock against him?’ wondered another pro-leave commenter.
‘He missed 2 weeks of training camp and people are in disbelief? Who cares. Good for him for taking the time off,’ another who supported his decision wrote.
On the other hand, there were just as many who criticized the executive.
‘It’s a high stakes job that pays well, you don’t take 2 weeks off,’ wrote one critic on X.
Another said, ‘It’s a valid reason to look for someone else and for him to not get hired for a high level executive position ever again, but I’m glad he’s happy!’
‘When I had my first son all I could think about was working harder because I had another mouth to feed and legacy suddenly mattered. The exact opposite of paternity leave. Man up,’ wrote another detractor.
One comment read, ‘Paternity leave is bulls**t. Wife had our first son on Thursday. Moved on Monday. Started following Monday. Success isn’t comfortable.’
Adofo-Mensah was relieved of duty after going 43-25 with the Vikings over the course of four seasons. The Vikings went 9-8 and missed the playoffs this season.
