Kwesi's Paternity Leave Shines Light on NFL's Total Sacrifice Demands

Forty-eight hours after the Minnesota Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, league insiders are still trying to figure out the odd timing of his dismissal.

As insiders and reporters parse through information and comments from their sources, word has spread that Adofo-Mensah took two weeks of paternity leave after the birth of his first child in 2023. It appears that the Vikings supported Adofo-Mensah and paternity leave had nothing to do with his firing.

“Following the birth of his first child, the general manager left for paternity leave, missing about two weeks of training camp meetings and practices and working remotely during that stretch. Word of his time away from the team traveled quickly around the league. Among some rival executives and coaches, it was met with disbelief," said Alec Lewis and Dianna Russini in a joint report for The Athletic.

Taking time off for the birth of a child goes against the grain of NFL culture, where working six or seven days a week during the season is common practice. Notably, the report from Lewis and Russini mentioned that "rival executives and coaches" were in "disbelief," even though Lewis and Russini clearly state that Adofo-Mensah worked remotely while he was home with his wife and newborn child.

In 2021, The Athletic published a story titled, "Football, childbirth and how paternity leave ‘doesn’t exist’ for players." That article was focused on European football, and all of the players the writers spoke to said "they wanted to be at the birth of their children, but none of them would have contemplated doing anything that would have damaging consequences for their career."

The same expectations exist in American football. For example, Joe Brady, during his introductory press conference after being hired as head coach of the Buffalo Bills, admitted that his wife gave birth by herself while he was at a game.

"This job demands sacrifice. I'm calling you on the way to a game while you're going into labor," Brady said. "I find out after a game that you go through birth by yourself. This game takes away time, energy, and presence from you, and you've carried the weight that comes with this job so I can pursue my calling."

Brady, emotional in the moment, clearly understood what he missed — and what his wife endured without him. What if there was a complication during the birth that put his wife's or his baby's life in jeopardy?

That's a risk that Adofo-Mensah wasn't willing to take, and instead of his peers being in disbelief that he would put his family before football, they should applaud him for his honorable character and commitment to the people he loves most.

Adofo-Mensah, whose role as general manager was to help construct the best possible roster via free agency and the draft, perhaps didn't have as good of a handle on the 2023 roster as he might've had if he didn't take paternity leave and instead was at every training camp practice and meeting before the 53-man roster had to be settled before the start of the regular season.

Take a look at the 38 players who were cut before the start of the 2023 season and you'll see that none of them have blossomed into household names in the NFL.

N'Keal Harry (WR)
Chim Okorafor (OT)
Curtis Weaver (LB)
Jack Podlesny (K)
Wilson Huber (LB)
Tanner Vallejo (LB)
Calvin Avery (DL)
Kalon Barnes (CB)
CJ Coldon Jr. (CB)
Christian DiLauro (T)
Jameson Houston (CB)
Abram Smith (RB)
DeWayne McBride (RB)
Aaron Dykes (RB)
Josh Sokol (OL)
Jack Snyder (OL)
Alan Ali (OL)
Jordan Ta'amu (QB)
Colin Thompson (TE)
Ben Sims (TE)
Jarrid Williams (T)
Jake Gervase (LB)
Tay Gowan (CB)
Ross Blacklock (DL)
Sheldon Day (DL)
Esezi Otomewo (DL)
TJ Smith (DL)
Benton Whitley (LB)
Abraham Beauplan (LB)
Joejuan Williams (CB)
Jaylin Williams (CB)
Luiji Vilain (LB)
Trishton Jackson (WR)
Thayer Thomas (WR)
Blake Proehl (WR)
Lucky Jackson (WR)
Jacob Copeland (WR)
Garrett Maag (WR)

Dr. Becky Kennedy, the author of the New York Times best-selling book "Good Inside," says partners who put their spouse and children before work are creating the blueprint for their children.

“If you prioritize other aspects of your life instead of spending time with your children, they interpret your actions to mean those activities are more important," Dr. Kennedy wrote.

If what a renowned therapist like Dr. Becky says is true, then it's clear that, at least during the NFL season, NFL coaches and front office personnel are expected to prioritize work over family, and thus they are displaying to their children that it's more important to be a provider than a caregiver.

In Minnesota, state law now allows parents of newborn children to take up to 12 weeks off while getting paid, doing so without using PTO, vacation time, or sick leave. Even though it's allowed by the law, it would be shocking to see a player, coach, or prominent member of a professional football team's front office take extended time off to bond with their new child.

However, if a member of the Vikings takes advantage of Minnesota Paid Leave, much less a couple of weeks off while working remotely, the way Adofo-Mensah did in 2023, there's nothing the Vikings, the NFL, or any of the old-school execs and coaches who seem to disagree with putting family over football, can do about it.

More Vikings coverage