Adrian Peterson On Child Discipline: ‘I Won’t Ever Use A Switch Again’
Adrian Peterson vows to never use a switch as discipline again in an interview with USA TODAY Sports
It’s been a crazy last few months for former NFL MVP Adrian Peterson. Behind the hands of child abuse, the public image of the superstar went from prestigious to public enemy number one behind a charge that placed the Minnesota Vikings running back as a child abuser, having beaten his child with a switch (tiny tree branch), causing marks across the four-year-old’s body.
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Now — as does every athlete in similar scenarios do — comes the trail of forgiveness as the 28-year-old running back is now looking to heal his image.
Speaking his first public words since early September, Peterson says he’s making the decision to do away with switches as a disciplinary tool.
"“I won’t ever use a switch again,” Peterson said. “There’s different situations where a child needs to be disciplined as far as timeout, taking their toys away, making them take a nap. There’s so many different ways to discipline your kids.”"
It’s difficult to recognize whether he’s genuine in his statement, but it looks like Peterson has found the error in his ways. There was never an issue of disciplining his children — parents across the nation do so when children step out of line, but as Peterson addresses in the statement above, he could’ve handled the situation in a less-physical manner, likely avoiding this entire scenario.
Having been suspended for the remainder of the season by Roger Goodell, Peterson will have a long time to mull over his words and the entire situation. He now has a negative image cast over him and that likely won’t remove for some time (see: Vick, Michael for proof), but it looks like he’s taking the right step in the right direction.
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