Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen left his home voluntarily after lengthy negotiations with law enforcement on Wednesday and was receiving medical care, the NFL team and authorities said.
Authorities were on scene at Griffen’s home for several hours after the player posted a video on Instagram saying people were trying to kill him and he called police before dawn.
Authorities said no intruder was found, and while Griffen told a dispatcher that he had fired one round from a gun police said no one was wounded.
Vikings staff, including team mental health professionals, were also at the home as authorities sought to bring the incident to a peaceful close.
When he agreed to leave the house he was taken by ambulance “to an area health care facility where he is receiving appropriate care,” police in Minnetrista, Minnesota, said in a statement.
“We got him the necessary help that he needs and … care of medical professionals,” said Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, who was outside Griffen’s house for part of the day.
Griffen, 33, and his wife, Tiffany, have three children and Spielman said the team’s concern was to support the family.
“Their family is our family,” he said.
Griffen dealt with mental health issues in 2018, when he missed four weeks of the season after he was involved in two incidents that drew law enforcement involvement but did not result in any criminal charges.
Griffen later said that in 2018 he finally addressed personal issues he had battled “for a long time.”
He played 17 of the team’s 18 regular-season and playoff games in 2019.
After spells with both Dallas and Detroit last season he re-signed with the Vikings in August and regained his old spot as the starting right defensive end.
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