The 2005 Vikings Love Boat: 30 Players, 100 Women, $5,000 in Fines — and Daunte Culpepper Paid $0 | HoM Ep. 1

Thirty active Minnesota Vikings players. Two luxury houseboats on Lake Minnetonka. Eighty to a hundred sex workers flown in from Atlanta and Florida. High school and college kids working the charter crew. A woman named Kathy Howe whose lawn got used as a restroom on the way to the dock. Forty-five minutes on the water before the captains turned around. And when the boats came back in, the police were already waiting, because Kathy Howe had already called them.Total fines from Hennepin County: $5,000. Daunte Culpepper paid zero. The head coach was fined more for scalping his Super Bowl tickets the year before than the players were fined for any of this.Kevin and Jeff cover the full story of the 2005 Minnesota Vikings Love Boat Scandal - from the rookie money that bankrolled it, to the attorney's courtroom description of what happened on those boats, to the fines, to Fred Smoot asking, "why was that ever a story?" on Reddit ten years later.The organization: Fred Smoot and Bryant McKinney didn't want "local talent" because local talent would start rumors. So, they brought in workers from out of state, which nearly added a trafficking charge on top of everything else.The execution: Al and Alma's Charter Cruises. Two boats. The captains turned around after 45 minutes. Some of the crew were high school kids. The attorney's description of what occurred in the common areas is entered into the record.The legal aftermath: Smoot and McKinney each fined $1,000 by Hennepin County. Culpepper's charges dismissed entirely, a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence crew members were directly offended by his specific actions. NFL fines were higher, but Mike Tice was still fined more for scalping Super Bowl tickets than any of his players were fined for this.The quotes: Mewelde Moore's "Sex? Come on, I'm engaged" defense. Fred Smoot's "please don't turn on the black light." Smoot on Roger Goodell: "I'd have been banished from the league."The footnotes: Darren Sharper - free safety on that 2005 roster, later agreed to an 18-year federal sentence for rape and sex trafficking across multiple states. Zygi Wilf bought the team instead of Vince McMahon. Brock Lesnar tried out for the Vikings the year before. And one of the boats was eventually sold, refurbished, and operated as a tour boat — complete with framed Culpepper and McKinney jerseys on the walls.Follow Halls of Mediocrity: wherever you get your podcasts | X | Facebook GroupIntro Music:Music by Marching Music -Guide Right -By John Philip Sousa | Royalty-free Music - PixabayOutro Music:Music by Marching Music -The Thunderer By John Philip Sousa | Royalty-free Music - Pixabay