Vinatieri residency scrutinized

By Kevin Woster, Journal staff | Thursday, March 01, 2007

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RAPID CITY — Super Bowl champion Adam Vinatieri may no longer live in South Dakota, but he would like to be granted one of the coveted big-game hunting licenses that are reserved for state residents.

State Game, Fish & Parks Department officials are checking to make sure that it’s legal for the National Football League All-Pro kicker to apply.

Vinatieri is now with the Indianapolis Colts, and the team’s official Web site says Vinatieri lives in Orlando, Fla., with his wife, Valerie, and their two children.

GF&P in its licensing rules requires someone to live in the state for 90 days to be considered a reisdent, but Vinatieri maintains he has always been and never quit being a South Dakota resident.

Emmett Keyser, an assistant Wildlife Division director for GF&P in Pierre, said Tuesday that the agency began the assessment of Vinatieri’s residency after someone contacted the GF&P about the issue.

“He maintains that he is a resident of the state,” Keyser said. “We’ve asked him to provide some additional documentation. I can’t tell you whether he is or isn’t a resident. I think people have suggested that he’s not.”

The 34-year-old Vinatieri, who grew up in Rapid City and graduated from Central High School and South Dakota State University, is well-known for his accurate kicking in key NFL game situations. He is best known for his game-winning field goals for the New England Patriots in the 2001 and 2003 Super Bowls.

A devoted outdoorsman from a family of hunters, Vinatieri is currently on a hunting trip in Argentina. Vinatieri’s dad, Paul, of Rapid City declined to speak for his son but confirmed that he owns a house in Rapid City, licenses his vehicles here, maintains a South Dakota drivers license and considers himself a South Dakota resident.

Keyser said that even if Vinatieri has a residence and spends most of his time outside the state, that doesn’t necessarily disqualify him for resident status in South Dakota.

“I assume his position is that he maintains his home here, lives here for a period of time during the year and, yes, plays football for a team out east,” Keyser said. “I think he says he has done the best he can to maintain his residency, and that if he hasn’t done something right, for us to let him know.”

Keyser said Vinatieri also says that he has not tried to exercise resident hunting privileges in other states.

Vinatieri typically can’t hunt in regular South Dakota seasons because of his job in the NFL overlaps the hunting season. But in what Keyser presumes is preparation for retirement, Vinatieri has applied as a resident in the drawing process for high-demand licenses that typically take 10 years or more to get. Residents who apply get “preference points” that increase their chances to be selected in future drawings.

GF&P licensing records show that Vinatieri applied as a resident in 2005 and 2006 for preference points for Black Hills bighorn sheep, mountain goat and elk; prairie elk; Custer State Park antlerless elk; and Custer State Park firearms elk.

These seasons and the application process are not open to nonresidents. Nonresidents who fraudulently acquire or apply for resident-only licenses could be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.

Keyser said he assumes GF&P’s assessment of Vinatieri’s residency began with questions to GF&P law enforcement officers.

“I’m not sure exactly how it started. I’m assuming somebody said something to a staff person and they looked it up,” Keyser said. “Then, we contacted him (Vinatieri). We are looking into it. From what I’ve seen so far, I think he’s tried to meet all the requirements.”

All three members of South Dakota’s congressional delegation maintain homes, vehicle registration and drivers licenses in South Dakota. And they all hunt on resident hunting licenses.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com