The Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said in a press conference Monday that Adrian Peterson has been activated and that the team will let the legal process play out before taking further action against the All-Pro running back.
Vikings feel Adrian Peterson was just ‘disciplining a child’
General manager Rick Spielman held a press conference Monday to address the activation of the star running back.
“We must defer to the legal system to determine whether he went to far, but we cannot make that judgement,” said Spielman, who added that the team will continue to monitor the situation.
“Based on the extensive information we have right now, and based on not only what we know about Adrian as a person but what he he has done for this community, we believe he deserves to play while the legal process plays out,” Spielman said.
More on Peterson
The activation of Peterson is a reversal of the team’s stance last week, when the Vikings deactivated Peterson after news broke that he had been indicted for charges of injury to a child.
“We didn’t know where we were at Friday,” Spielman said of the initial decision. “We thought it was best to step back, evaluate the situation and keep Adrian out of the game this past weekend.”
Spielman said the team gathered information over the weekend and had multiple conversations with Peterson and his attorneys before making what he called a “tough decision.” He refused to say whether the Vikings have been in contact with the police or with the child’s mother.
”This is a very important issue. I want to take time to emphasize that the issue of child welfare is extremely serious. We want to do the right thing. This is a difficult path to navigate regarding the judgment of how a parent disciplines his child.
“We feel strongly as an organization this is disciplining a child.”
Reporters grilled the GM over the activation, asking if published photos of the boy’s injuries were not proof enough that Peterson was in the wrong.
“The photos are disturbing, to be clear,” Spielman responded. “It is right for him to go through the process legally.”
Over the weekend, Peterson turned himself into authorities in Montgomery County, Texas, where he was booked an released on $15,000 bail. Police reports gathered by Sports Radio 610 allege that Peterson struck his 4-year-old son with a tree branch. Peterson issued a statement on Monday apologizing for hurting the boy, saying he was just trying to discipline him and that he does not consider himself a child abuser.
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