Culpepper apologizes for boat incident, admits no wrongdoing
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(AP) Daunte Culpepper said he's sorry for the embarrassment caused by the notorious Lake Minnetonka boat party, even though he said he didn't do anything wrong.
Culpepper and three teammates are charged with a misdemeanor, alleging lewd conduct on board a tour boat on the Twin Cities lake.
His e-mail to the media on Thursday said he accepts the responsibility and accountability of being a high-profile athlete.
"Without admitting to the ridiculous allegations, I do apologize for any embarrassment that this situation has caused the community, the organization and especially my family," he wrote. "I can handle the personal accusations because I know the truth. I expect the legal process to clear my name so that I can move on."
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Culpepper's e-mail also thanked former Vikings coach Dennis Green for drafting him, fans, and his teammates.
"I wish the best for the Viking organization as they go forward under the new ownership group and coaching staff," he wrote.
He said he already feels welcome in Miami. Culpepper, a Florida native, wrote that "It felt like a dream come true when I walked into the Dolphins facility and met the coaches and administration."
On Wednesday, Miami officially announced that it had signed Culpepper in exchange for a second-round draft pick.
The quarterback's relationship with the Vikings began to deteriorate in January after he filed his agent, saying he wanted to play a bigger role in his business dealings.
There was more tension over his decision to rehab at home in Florida, instead of coming to Minnesota where he could learn the offense of new coach Brad Childress. Finally, last week, Culpepper said he didn't like the tone of an e-mail he received from the front office and requested to be traded or released.
"We thought we could find a way in which we could get Daunte to work with us," Vikings owner Zygi Wilf told the Star Tribune for a story published Thursday, "and to get into the plan that we were trying to put together for our future.
"With everything he had gone through this past year, the injury and the incidents and everything else, getting rid of his agent, it just seemed to me that in his mind he wanted to make a change in his life and in his career. ... We tried everything we could do to accommodate but it didn't seem like he was interested in staying a Viking."
