Adrian Peterson is apparently a better candidate for NFL Comeback Player of the Year than Eric Berry.
On NFL.com, Chris Wesseling wrote a piece about which man deserves the National Football League’s Comeback Player of the Year. In the first position, Wesseling named Arizona Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer before listing Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Eric Berry.
Somehow, he didn’t highlight every word and press delete. Palmer certainly has merit, but the real travesty is listing Peterson ahead of Berry. One man beat his 4-year-old son with a stick. The other beat cancer.
Wesseling makes no mention of Peterson beating his kid in his reasoning about being a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. Peterson was not injured, but rather suspended with pay for the final 15 games of the 2014 season because of his ongoing legal problems related to striking his young child with a switch in various places, including his genitals, until the child bled.
Berry was forced to leave his team after a Week 12 game against the Oakland Raiders after complaining of breathing issues. As it turned out, Berry was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and placed on Injured Reserve. Most, including head coach Andy Reid, believed Berry would miss at least the entire 2015 season as he underwent chemotherapy to treat his cancer.
Amazingly, Berry never missed a single practice from the beginning of training camp in late July. He has played in all 13 games for the Chiefs this season and been a dominant force, reminding those of his All-Pro status prior to the illness.
Yet, Wesseling actually has Berry a spot behind that child-beater in Minnesota. Why not just put Greg Hardy on the list, who was also suspended 15 games with pay for allegedly beating Nicole Holder, his now ex-girlfriend. What is the difference between these scum bags, Peterson and Hardy? Neither are men. They are cowards who hide behind a helmet and facemask once per week and get paid millions to do it.
Meanwhile, Berry has inspired millions around not only the country but the world, who are facing similar battles. If you need proof of that, look no further than Google. Search the term “Eric Berry inspired” and more than 4,820,000 results pop up.
Maybe even worse than Wesseling’s tone-deaf piece is the NFL actually tweeting out this disgrace from its official Twitter handle.
The NFL is either playing a bad joke, or is even more oblivious than previously thought. It’s too bad Ray Rice was not picked up by a team, he would have been the runaway winner. Then, there is this…
What? The NFL Comeback Player of the Year is about a man coming back form a hardship to perform at the highest level within the sport. Peterson came back from smacking around a screaming, crying, defenseless child with a tree branch. Peterson has no business being on the list. Every player mentioned alongside Peterson’s name should be offended to be lumped into the same company, whether it was a man overcoming cancer or a devastating injury.
Berry came back from cancer, and crying in bed at night, scared to close his eyes because he might not wake up the following morning.
The 26-year-old was able to overcome and actually gained one pound during chemotherapy, showcasing the bravery and the heart that are the best qualities of human beings. Berry personifies everything we want to see out of ourselves and our children, while Peterson represents the worst elements of society.
This time around, if there is any justice, Peterson should get a small taste of what it feels like to get beat.