On Friday, Minnesota Vikings Hall of Famer and former Minnesota Supreme Court justice Alan Page left his Minneapolis home for a morning walk on the banks of a nearby lake. The weather app on his phone said it was 17 below, but it had warmed up from 22 below, so he was good with that.

During his walk, a photograph was taken of Page bundled up with frost on his cowl, hat and eyes, which were the only visible parts of him.

He later posted the picture on his private social media pages. “Life in the city, not too bad out there today,” he wrote.

On Saturday, Page received several messages from friends asking about his attendance at a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Another account had posted the photograph of Page. “This is Alan Page protesting in Minneapolis today,” it read.

Alan Page on a walk near his Minnesota home. (Provided by Alan Page)

Page says he was not present for any protest. And he wasn’t happy about the post. “Why would somebody make that up?” he said. “I don’t know what it is in the human condition that makes us want to say things that are demonstrably false.”

He saw a connection between the post and the protests, however. “When people are dishonest, whether intentionally or accidentally, it starts to erode trust,” he said. “Sadly, connecting back to what’s been going on here, the dishonesty erodes the trust of people in our government. In my view, the truth is inextricably connected to trust, and if you don’t have the truth, you can’t have trust. And if you don’t have trust, you have nothing. It’s what binds us together as a society. When we lie about what we’re saying and doing, we can’t trust anything. And that’s a serious problem. My sense is people feel they can’t trust the government.”

Though Page did not protest, he understands why many did. “People are in the streets because they are frustrated, in my opinion,” he said. “And they are frustrated because of this gratuitous violence that isn’t necessary to accomplish whatever the stated goal may be. If the issue is immigration, you don’t need the gratuitous violence. People are upset about it and are sending a message that they think it’s unacceptable.”

Page received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Trump in 2018, even though he had been critical of the Trump administration for “playing to people’s racial insecurities.” Page told The Athletic in 2024 that he also did not like the way Trump interacted with people and talked about them.

Many consider Page, who had 148.5 sacks, the best defensive tackle in history. Former Vikings coach Bud Grant called him the greatest defensive tackle he ever saw. Page and Lawrence Taylor are the only two defensive players in NFL history who have been named MVP.

Page said he never thought he’d see what he’s seeing in his adopted hometown. “People can have their own opinions about the facts, but they don’t get to have their own facts,” he said. “For some reason, a lot of folks seem to think they do get to have their own facts.

“… In situations like this, I tend to want to figure out how to shed more light than heat, but I’m finding it difficult to see any light at the end of this tunnel.”