Credit: Harry Engels/Getty Images
Things have worsened for Adrian Peterson, running back for the Minnesota Vikings, since he was indicted for a felony count of child abuse.
On Friday (Sept. 12) Peterson was issued a warrant for his arrest after a grand jury saw photos of wounds on Peterson’s four year old after Peterson disciplined his son. The jury believes that Peterson went beyond “reasonable discipline” when his son misbehaved back in May 2014. Peterson used a switch, a wooden rod or a tree branch, to whip his son after he shoved his brother while the two were playing video games. The wounds were so severe, that his mother took the boy to see the doctor. Child Protection Services was contacted soon after.
Peterson posted $15,000 bail after turning himself in Saturday (Sept. 13) and continued to practice with the Vikings. The organization suspended him one game after news broke, costing him to miss the second game of the season against the New England Patriots.
This news comes at an unfortunate time for the NFL and Peterson with the ongoing controversies of the Ray Rice domestic violence incident and the Rice video scandal with the commissioner.
Tuesday (Sept. 16) Nike stores in Minnesota pulled Peterson merchandise off of the sales floor while charities with any affiliation with Peterson are considering parting ways. The All Day Foundation is already on an immediate hiatus.
Today (Sept. 17) the Vikings announced that they will put Peterson on the Commissioner’s Exempt List, making Peterson inactive to play until the child abuse case has been resolved. The Vikings organization feel that the case is only going to be a distraction for Peterson and the Vikings. Also, the owners of the team feel it is best for Peterson to focus primarily on resolving this matter.
Peterson has a court hearing October 8, 2014 and could possibly get a plea bargain.
