Adrian Peterson indicted in child injury case

In comment 11858965 sphinx said:

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In comment 11858951 MarshallOnMontana said: Quote: My initial impression was he pretty obviously was, because thats how it is in most of these cases. Then I later saw the lawyers statement where he does in fact mention that. This is learned behavior, most often passed down. And as much as we increasingly and rightfully look to evolve, this behavior can actually stem from good intentions, even though misguided Oh, his lawyer said. Did his lawyer say he went through this ... According to police reports, the child, however, had a slightly different story, [B]telling authorities that "Daddy Peterson hit me on my face." The child also expressed worry that Peterson would punch him in the face if the child reported the incident to authorities. He also said that he had been hit by a belt and that "there are a lot of belts in Daddy's closet." He added that Peterson put leaves in his mouth when he was being hit with the switch while his pants were down. The child told his mother that Peterson "likes belts and switches" and "has a whooping room."[B] Link - ( New Window )

Meh, no biggie. I'm sure Adrian has nothing but the best of intentions, whooping room, shoving leaves down his son's throat, and all.

Fuck this psychopath. The NFL should never let him play again.

I was merely confirming the answer to your question. And im not sure where the rest of the text in that post differs from what peterson and his lawyer are saying

The boy was being "disciplined" because he pushed one of his brothers away from from a video game so he could play.

THAT'S WHAT 4 YEAR OLDS DO. THEY PUSH AWAY ANOTHER KID BECAUSE THEY ARE IMPATIENT. THAT DOESN'T REQUIRE DISCIPLINE, IT REQUIRES VERBAL COMMUNICATION.

Most of that most went on to have kids in the era where that shit didn't float. We had to learn other methods and tools to discipline our kids.

Maybe AP grew up in the former era, and he sure as shit had his kids in the latter. He might not be some kind of monster, but the detail in that report and the systematic way his discipline was handed out was/is pretty fuckin far from OK.

The legal issue needs to run its course, then the NFL should act accordingly, but since I'm only a juror in the court of public opinion, I'm pretty disgusted by the guy and he would not be playing on my team.

I agree 100 percent. This is one of those instances where I have to dumb it down for some of you and state explicity that a comment short of 'adrian peterson is the devil' does not constitute a defense for his actions.

that Jerry Jones won't be signing him to the Cowboys next year.

AP was a Sociology major.

In comment 11858976 sphinx said:

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AP was a Sociology major.

I doubt he absorbed or retained an ounce of anything that was taught to him.

Warrant issued for his arrest

If you hit your kid - I don't care about the "era", don't care if you're "a firm believer in it" as if it's some enduring creed - you're a shitty parent. No gray area. Not saying irredeemably (perhaps you don't understand that a 4 year old's trust is tremendously fragile and, unnurtured, potentially fleeting and easily damaged - "this much larger human that I've been learning from is causing me pain"), but your prospects as a positive influence are dubious.

Sense allows, however, for a distinction between shitty parent and sociopath. Peterson, based on the visual evidence (if that is indeed substantiated) is tending toward the latter. It takes a lot to truly be elevated as such, but once blood is drawn, and repeatedly so, we've moved decidedly beyond "spanking" bad parent territory and into "time to protect the kid from an objectively pernicious influence."

Too bad it's such a great player. I guess? The NFL is on a big time cold streak. Goodell, time for a spanking.

I liked when the "bad" NFL players just did a shitload of cocaine.

With the guy from houston radio is a must see. Ton of detail. Adrian peterson also coming off like someone who has not been evasive in the slightest. In his own mind he has done nothing wrong, he has been fully forthcoming about the fact that he hits all of his children. Wonder if more charges could be coming

he is probably done for this season at a minimum. This is a brutal week for the nfl

I suspended my judgement, especially with the Rice situation. I dont ever plan on using corporal punishment with any of my children but I had my share of spankings as a child. I earned every one of them, turned out fine, and dont think my parents did anything wrong.

But there is a huge difference between a smack on the butt and whats on display in those pictures. Thats abuse. Thats violence. Considering his statements since and its clear that you have a guy who really doesnt know where the line between discipline and abuse is. I dont even know what kind of man is capable of doing that to his children. I find it pretty pathetic though. He should face the same legal ramifications that any other POS who puts his hands on his kids like that faces. I dont know what kind of penalties he's facing but people go to prison for less every day. Some time in a box with nothing to do but think about whether he wants his children to love him or fear him might not be a bad idea.

And yet he choose to use a form of "discipline" that left physical marks.... There are no words. And IMO there is NO defense for his line of reasoning. If anything he should be leading the conversation on why this type of "discipline" needs to stop!!!

which are different from Ray McDonald where there are no pictures. Based on the circumstances now it's certainly possible he never plays again. BFD, it's a game. The more important question is whether the kid is physically alright and getting the help he needs to be mentally and emotionally alright.

In comment 11859002 Dunedin81 said:

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which are different from Ray McDonald where there are no pictures. Based on the circumstances now it's certainly possible he never plays again. BFD, it's a game. The more important question is whether the kid is physically alright and getting the help he needs to be mentally and emotionally alright.

Greg Hardy sounds worse than McDonald (and Rice) and has been found guilty, pending appeal. How that guy is allowed to play but AP isn't is hypocritical, but i guess that's a Vikings decision and not a league decision.

Rich Houston's dad

but based on the Deadspin bit it seems like Hardy could actually be acquitted. Girlfriend was doing coke that night, admitted in lower court she was jealous and at one point struck him. Doesn't make him less of a piece of shit in my eyes, but I'm not a juror.
Link - ( New Window )

the NFL is dealing with right now, it would be corporate suicide to let him play again....would the NFL survive? sure it would. Would they be vilified and condemned? Absolutely. It should make no difference what the "intent" was...none whatsoever....this child was 4 YEARS OLD!! If some don't feel comfortable labeling him a "monster", so be it, good luck with counseling in prison and don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out of the league AP!

In comment 11858964 montanagiant said:

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In comment 11858855 Chris in Philly said: Quote: is not a Sicilian immigrant. I don't give a fuck if he was beaten daily by his piece of shut father. He's a fucking criminal. This is not discipline in any civilized society. Exactly...I don't get this "Well I got beat 35 years ago by my dad so it's okaay this kid got hit with a switch"..

I was thinking about this last night. The net is rife with this very sentiment. A cpl yrs ago there was a thread on here about a dad beating a boy with a belt and a # of posters said the same thing. I think we all want to believe our parents loved us and had our best intentions in mind at all times. The latter however, may not necessarily be true. There is a point where "For his own good" becomes an act of self serving animalistic rage. It satisfies a primal urge in the attacker and only serves to confuse the child who often still doesnt really know why what he/she did was wrong. No true lesson is learned, just more fear instilled. No parent really want their child to fear them - do they?

call his dad "daddy". He referred to him as "Daddy Peterson". I guess there was another "daddy" at home. The 4 year old didn't have enough issues going forward.

In comment 11858850 MarshallOnMontana said:

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But when I did, I got it big. A tennis racket. A lashing with a clotheshanger repeatedly. A pool stick until it broke. Wooden shoes, wooden spoons. I came from a family of sicilian immigrants, that was just considered discipline. And what i got was tame compared to my cousins and my knife throwing aunt. They were raised that way, they passed it on. Doesnt make it right, but it does shed light. I bet peterson got beat as a kid too. You can break the cycle though. And with time to reflect and a generation of being in the american culture, my mom and aunts look back at that with regret, they would never think of laying a finger on one of their grandkids. Me and my cousins look back and laugh at the shared beatdowns. What peterson did was wrong, and its easy to just vilify him. Its simple to just paint him as some monster. But I think its more complex than that. I dont find what he did as appalling as ray rice. And I find it easier to believe that adrian petersons behavior is probably more open to rehabilitation. He was very likely on the other side growing up, and learned this behavior as a teaching tool (as misguided as it may be). I dont think its as simple as he just gets off beating on kids.

There is so much in this post that I agree with, but I do think one point is being understated. I agree that this is probably a result of how he was brought up and I agree that the generations before us were way more physical with their children then they are now. That being said, there is still something inside of these people that allows them to do serious physical damage to a defenseless child. I also agree that Peterson probably thinks that he's doing the right thing and he's well within his rights, but he's wrong.

This isn't a debate about whether spanking a child is good or bad for them. This isn't your run of the mill spanking to teach a 4 year old not to do something. This is child abuse. Adrian Peterson didn't spank his son for saying a curse word. He whipped him with a branch that left long lasting scars. What kind of person thinks that's ok? Parents were more physical in years past, but whipping a 4 year old is child abuse in any generation and takes a special kind of person to do that.

First of all, great thread. There are a ton of insightful, extremely thoughtful comments here.

I'm in the camp of what AP did was sick, abusive and completely unacceptable. On the other hand I don't think he did this for enjoyment but rather this is what he knew and he probably thought this was the best parenting he could do. As someone said earlier, he needs education and rehabilitation. The public raking and suspension he's going to get is going to be punishment.

So if you're the NFL what do you do? This is of course complicated by the timing of the Ray Rice situation. Clearly you have to do something. Do you suspend him indefinitely too? Ban him for life? Wait for the legal system?

In this case I would gather all of the facts and if it seems that this truly is APs idea of best parenting, I would use the newly implemented abuse policy and state that there is no room for child abuse in our society and league and AP is going to suspended for 6 games. I would force AP to publicly apologize and say he didn't realize what he did was wrong but now he knows and he'll never do it again. Then donate the salary that he loses from the suspension to child abuse prevention.

Ultimately AP should be able to play again and this is an opportunity to use a terrible situation for some good. This is an opportunity for the NFL to do what's right and come down harsh on AP but use it as a lesson for everyone watching.

If Goodell screws this us he's gone.

if you suspend a guy indef (for the season certainly) for punching a woman once (by all accounts) you have to do AT LEAST the same for a guy who clearly has repeatedly beaten a 4 yr old child.

already articles coming out using terms like "monster".....no way he plays another down and rightfully so. Hell, this would actually make the NFL look good if he's done....they'll certainly pounce on that opportunity if nothing else....image is in the toilet right now, any rehab/counseling can be done separately.

what your parents did. It's up to you to learn a better way to do things when you become a parent yourself. Many of our parents did fucked up shit because they come from another generation or another culture. None of that should matter. People from other generations would call African Americans the N word, and they would drive their cars with open beers in their hands, and they would smoke in hospitals and schools, and they wouldn't use car seats for kids. Are any of those choices that parents should make in 2014? E-fucking-volve your thought processes. Repeating your parents' mistakes does not make you a good parent, it makes you an idiot.

Wow, he wasn't evasive and openly admitted to whipping his little boy with a fucking stick? Let's give him a medal for being a sociopath as well as an ignorant criminal!

In comment 11859072 Chris in Philly said:

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what your parents did. It's up to you to learn a better way to do things when you become a parent yourself. Many of our parents did fucked up shit because they come from another generation or another culture. None of that should matter. People from other generations would call African Americans the N word, and they would drive their cars with open beers in their hands, and they would smoke in hospitals and schools, and they wouldn't use car seats for kids. Are any of those choices that parents should make in 2014? E-fucking-volve your thought processes. Repeating your parents' mistakes does not make you a good parent, it makes you an idiot. Wow, he wasn't evasive and openly admitted to whipping his little boy with a fucking stick? Let's give him a medal for being a sociopath as well as an ignorant criminal!

Well said Chris.

as everyone else seems to be. If he lied sure, but absent that less so. He now has the job of weighing the relative blameworthiness of particular acts, based as much on public outcry as anything else, the offender's record, the offender's attitude toward the situation (which we generally don't see), etc etc. And what do you do if the guy is acquitted but there is a lot of evidence, maybe some that wasn't admissible at trial, that he committed the offense? When a judge does it in most places he has sentencing guidelines, when an NFL commissioner does it he has jack shit, especially because the public's give-a-shit is not always predictable. The retort that this isn't a jail, they have no right to jobs, is true enough, but these are kids who don't always hail from great neighborhoods or great environments and drumming them out of the league, whether we think it is right or wrong, doesn't necessarily increase the likelihood that they'll become better people and better citizens.

In comment 11859072 Chris in Philly said:

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what your parents did. It's up to you to learn a better way to do things when you become a parent yourself. Many of our parents did fucked up shit because they come from another generation or another culture. None of that should matter. People from other generations would call African Americans the N word, and they would drive their cars with open beers in their hands, and they would smoke in hospitals and schools, and they wouldn't use car seats for kids. Are any of those choices that parents should make in 2014? E-fucking-volve your thought processes. Repeating your parents' mistakes does not make you a good parent, it makes you an idiot. Wow, he wasn't evasive and openly admitted to whipping his little boy with a fucking stick? Let's give him a medal for being a sociopath as well as an ignorant criminal!

That first paragraph is spot on. I think people can understand why he's fucked up, but it doesn't change the fact that he's fucked up....and he's absolutely fucked up for thinking what he's doing is ok.

my parents did that I will not be doing as a parent. AP getting hit as a child is nothing more than an excuse. This is appalling and has no place in or society. This isn't an open hand slap or spanking, this is a cold hearted beating of a 4 year old. It makes me sick.

In comment 11859059 natefit said:

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if you suspend a guy indef (for the season certainly) for punching a woman once (by all accounts) you have to do AT LEAST the same for a guy who clearly has repeatedly beaten a 4 yr old child.

I completely agree. The NFL's poor handling of the entire Ray Rice situation is going to come back and bite them in the ass repeatedly.

it bothers me more and more. A 4 year old. 4 year olds just start to say their name. They can probably tell you what color the sky is. They might be able to finish a complete sentence. A 4 year old should be able to tell you that a circle is different than a square. This dude thought it was ok to slash a 4 year old with a stick. That's evil.

He's a non-custodial father probably angered by the presence of another man in his son's life. I suspect it is likely his motives had little to do with teaching his son anything - and instead was more about demonstrating his parental rights. The child was just the object but the target was the mother and "other father".

good post. That's how Goodell and Peterson need to handle this. 6 game suspension and AP will go through treatment and counseling during that time.

The fact that Peterson is most likely abusing his child and thinks he's doing good, leads me to believe that he can be taught that it's not ok. A parent that has major anger issues and abuses their kids probably can't change and I'm hopeful AP is in the former category.

of an indefinite suspension makes absolutely no sense and is completely wrong IMO.....if he's able to get the help he needs and comes out the better for it in a couple years, good for him and his kids....but he should be done in the NFL....period. Just watch how this thing will spread like wildfire once the details are fully disseminated.....and this one doesn't need video evidence to bring the outrage, of that I'm quite sure.

Vick isn't done in the NFL. People that have killed others aren't done in the NFL. At worst, he should be out for this season, but only because of recent events in the NFL. They might have no choice but to be extreme with their punishment. I think a much fairer suspension would be to implement the new domestic violence 6 game suspension.

who said anything about giving him a medal or credit for not being evasive? some of you are incredibly dense, and/or just looking for a debate that doesnt exist. knock all the strawmans out of the park that you want in the interest of displaying your moral superiority. Its entirely predictable

the point is that adrian petersons mindset is very likely more layered and complex than strictly being some deviant monster. thats a simple explanation for simple minds. and of course ap was wrong either way.

but you are vastly understating the capabilities of a 4 year old.

4 year olds are quite capable of being little shits

In comment 11859137 Blue Baller said:

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but you are vastly understating the capabilities of a 4 year old. 4 year olds are quite capable of being little shits

Four year olds can be little turds, to be sure, but they also don't understand punishment, physical or otherwise, particularly well, so as useless as is brutalizing anyone it is even less likely to effect the desired outcome on a child of that age.

Again, not advocating using a switch are any carpal punishment on any age of kid but you better be correcting and punishing your 4 year old for bad behavior

In comment 11859137 Blue Baller said:

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but you are vastly understating the capabilities of a 4 year old. 4 year olds are quite capable of being little shits

Yea, so are 3 hour old "kids". Gimme a fucking break. What is the point of your comment? That you relate to the desire to beat the shit out of a 4 year old? If not, then what?

week

The Vikings are handling this the right way. Deactivate him for the game, let the facts all come to light and handle this very serious business decision over the next several weeks. Peterson should absolutely not play until the legal, league and organizational next steps are more clear. This is exactly what the Panthers, Ravens and NFL did not do regarding Hardy and Rice.

Goodell fucked all of this up sideways. Suspending a guy 2 games for KOing his fiancé, then establishing 6 games as the policy, then indefinite when evidence of a crime you already knew about comes to light? How does he rationalize anything short of that for Peterson now?

for merely pushing his brother aside so he could play a video game? What was appropriate was a talking to and a hug. Discipline was not required at all, let alone this beating.

A whooping room? If true, this goes a lot deeper than this one incident.

In comment 11859148 Blue Baller said:

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Again, not advocating using a switch are any carpal punishment on any age of kid but you better be correcting and punishing your 4 year old for bad behavior

Four year olds can barely appreciate the connection between the behavior and the punishment. Yes you can punish them, but you can't punish them the way you can a six or a seven year old. You take away a seven year old's favorite toy as punishment, they scheme to get the thing back. You take away a three or a four year old's, they forget about it and find something else to fixate on.

In comment 11859169 Dunedin81 said:

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... Four year olds can barely appreciate the connection between the behavior and the punishment. Yes you can punish them, but you can't punish them the way you can a six or a seven year old. You take away a seven year old's favorite toy as punishment, they scheme to get the thing back. You take away a three or a four year old's, they forget about it and find something else to fixate on.

I appreciate your observation and it is undoubtedly correct in a theoretical sense. But I don't understand why this is even an issue for discussion. All I can visualize is the picture of that little boy - with a caption underneath talking about whether a four year old can benefit from discipline.

Tell that to the child. Ask the child how he views him when he's being beaten.

Some of you don't have kids , ever.

In comment 11859179 Berrylish said:

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Some of you don't have kids , ever.

There are some pretty scary comments in this thread.