EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have suspended defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander for three weeks without pay following a drunken driving charge for an incident earlier this year.
The Vikings announced the punishment Tuesday as they began training camp. Alexander’s suspension began Friday and will be in effect until Aug. 13, two days before their first preseason game at the New York Giants.
“I take full responsibility for the situation I put myself in and apologize for not meeting the mark,” Alexander said in a statement released by the Vikings. “I know it’s unacceptable. I understand the suspension and am committed to learning from the matter and ensuring I come back a better version of myself.”
Alexander, who was also given the title of defensive passing game coordinator, was hired in February to replace Daronte Jones, who became defensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders.
According to Hennepin County court records, Alexander pled guilty July 16 to a gross misdemeanor charge of third degree driving while impaired for refusal to submit to a chemical test. A fourth degree driving while impaired charge was dismissed. He was sentenced to 48 hours of community service, placed on two years of unsupervised probation and fined $603.
Police in Edina, a Minneapolis suburb, were called at 4:01 a.m. on April 26 for a vehicle stopped in the middle of an intersection with the driver unresponsive. An officer observed damage to the car and awoke Alexander by opening the door. His speech was slurred and his balance so poor that the one-leg stand as part of the field sobriety test was stopped to prevent injury, and a preliminary breath test showed an alcohol concentration of .169 on a weak breath, the officer reported, more than twice the legal limit. After being transported to the police station, Alexander refused an official breath test.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said the club had been in contact with the league in the three months since the arrest and initiated the punishment once Alexander’s court case was closed.
“Disappointment is the word,” O’Connell said at his regularly scheduled news conference at the start of training camp. “The expectations and the standards we have are clear, and it’s important that we do those things for our players and be the examples on and off the field.”
Alexander, who has begun his 10th year of coaching in the NFL, was defensive backs coach last season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also coached defensive backs for the Miami Dolphins for two years while current Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores was the head coach there. Alexander played five seasons in the league as a safety after being drafted in the second round in 2007 by the Detroit Lions.
Commanders tight ends coach Ben Steele was fired Monday in the aftermath of his arrest on suspicion of driving while intoxicated last month. Steele had just been hired by Washington after spending the previous three seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He was the assistant offensive line coach for the Vikings in 2021.
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