EDEN PRAIRIE — Leslie Frazier is widely considered one of the nicest men in the NFL, a high-integrity, high-class type of head coach.

That doesn’t mean he’s a pushover. Frazier has proven he has a no-nonsense side to him in his first year in charge of the Minnesota Vikings, and the latest and largest of his difficult decisions came this week.

Bernard Berrian, a veteran in an already-thin group of wide receivers, was waived. Chris Cook, the team’s best cornerback in pass coverage for what has been a leaky secondary, was suspended without pay following a felony charge for domestic assault by strangulation.

The week before, quarterback Donovan McNabb was benched in favor of rookie Christian Ponder.

The distractions this season have been fewer than last, when Brett Favre, Randy Moss and Brad Childress were in the middle of all kinds of controversies, but this is one of those weeks when the Vikings can’t escape or ignore the extracurricular activity.

“It resembles our record,” linebacker Erin Henderson said. “We’re a 1-6 team, and we want to try to eliminate those things. We want to try to get rid of any distractions that might come about playing in this league and playing in the NFL and playing for the Vikings. We just want to go out and play games and win them without all the side stuff going on. It’s unfortunate it had to happen that way, but that’s the way it is. You just try to eliminate it and keep moving forward.”

Cook is the fourth player arrested this year, but his charge is by far the most serious. Frazier said Wednesday he and the rest of the organization are “disappointed” and “disturbed” by the allegation that he twice tried to strangle his girlfriend at his home over the weekend after becoming angry she had contact with an ex-boyfriend. The woman was found by police with hemorrhaging in her eye and a bloody nose and upper lip.

“The fact that he will be suspended from our team really lets you know how concerned we are about what happened,” Frazier said, declining to provide more information about his Tuesday conversation with Cook or when, if ever, Cook can rejoin the team. He’s on the reserve/suspended list and can be replaced on the active roster by another player immediately.

Frazier said he was “in shock” Saturday after learning Cook was in jail.

As for Berrian’s situation, that was simmering for weeks.

“Just a matter of what was going to be best for our team,” Frazier said. “One of the things I explained to our football team: Every decision that’s made is based on what’s best for our team. It has nothing to do with it being personal or anything like that. It’s what best for our team.”

Frazier was careful not to overtly criticize Berrian, who had a total of only 343 yards receiving, no touchdowns and no receptions longer than 30 yards since the start of last season while getting paid like a No. 1 receiver. He didn’t directly answer a question about whether Berrian’s attitude and effort were satisfactory.