Adrian Peterson releases statement on abuse case, says he’s not an abuser
By Josh Hill
This week saw the NFL rocked by two different abuse cases as the new Ray Rice video that showed him savagely beating his wife in an elevator was released on Monday and Adrian Peterson was arrested on Friday for allegedly abusing his child with a switch.
More from Minnesota Vikings
- Kirk Cousins trying to emulate Patrick Mahomes after seeing co-star on Netflix doc
- NFL rumors: Dalvin Cook gives another status update on RB’s free agency
- Vikings: Jordan Addison issues apology after reckless driving charge
- 3 biggest mistakes from the NFL offseason
- Patrick Mahomes is picking a fight with the Kirk Cousins haters
Peterson was deactivated for the Vikings game on Sunday against the New England Patriots and he has since been the subject of a lot of debate all weekend long. Peterson was cleared to play for Minnesota this upcoming Sunday against the New Orleans Saints and he released a statement not long after that discussing what happened.
It’s a long letter with a lot of words, none of which seem all the sincere or apologetic. Peterson starts the statement out by basically saying the statement is at the command of his attorney and not his own. He then fails to apologize for what he did and ends things by saying he accepts how people feel about what happened and that essentially he’s the parent and he gets to discipline his son the way he wants.
Per the Star Tribune, here’s Peterson’s statement:
"My attorney has asked me not to discuss the facts of my pending case. I hope you can respect that request and help me honor it. I very much want the public to hear from me but I understand that it is not appropriate to talk about the facts in detail at this time. Nevertheless, I want everyone to understand how sorry I feel about the hurt I have brought to my child. I never wanted to be a distraction to the Vikings organization, the Minnesota community or to my teammates. I never imagined being in a position where the world is judging my parenting skills or calling me a child abuser because of the discipline I administered to my son. I voluntarily appeared before the grand jury several weeks ago to answer any and all questions they had. Before my grand jury appearance, I was interviewed by two different police agencies without an attorney. In each of these interviews I have said the same thing, and that is that I never ever intended to harm my son. I will say the same thing once I have my day in court. I have to live with the fact that when I disciplined my son the way I was disciplined as a child, I caused an injury that I never intended or thought would happen. I know that many people disagree with the way I disciplined my child. I also understand after meeting with a psychologist that there are other alternative ways of disciplining a child that may be more appropriate. I have learned a lot and have had to reevaluate how I discipline my son going forward. But deep in my heart I have always believed I could have been one of those kids that was lost in the streets without the discipline instilled in me by my parents and other relatives. I have always believed that the way my parents disciplined me has a great deal to do with the success I have enjoyed as a man. I love my son and I will continue to become a better parent and learn from any mistakes I ever make. I am not a perfect son. I am not a perfect husband. I am not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser. I am someone that disciplined his child and did not intend to cause him any injury. No one can understand the hurt that I feel for my son and for the harm I caused him. My goal is always to teach my son right from wrong and that’s what I tried to do that day. I accept the fact that people feel very strongly about this issue and what they think about my conduct. Regardless of what others think, however, I love my son very much and I will continue to try to become a better father and person."
Peterson has a right to raise his child in his own way, but there are limits to what he can and can’t do. No one is saying that a spanking is child abuse — well, not most people — but there’s a difference between hitting your son or daughter on the rear and whipping them with a switch so hard that you leave marks.
No one is telling Peterson he doesn’t love his son or can’t discipline his son — all that is being suggested by people with a conscious is that he shows a little more remorse and better judgement about disciplining his children.