Vikings’ Adrian Peterson Indicted for Injury to Child

By Laurel Brubaker Calkins and Eben Novy-Williams

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was indicted by a Texas grand jury on a charge of injuring a child and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Peterson, 29, a six-time Pro Bowl selection and the National Football League’s Most Valuable Player in 2012, was indicted by a grand jury, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Brady Fitzgerald said yesterday in a statement. Peterson wasn’t in custody of the Sheriff’s Office when the statement was issued, Fitzgerald said.
The Vikings said in a statement that the team had deactivated Peterson for tomorrow’s game against the New England Patriots.
Peterson used a switch to spank his son, his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. A switch is a thin twig or stick used for corporal punishment.
“Adrian is a loving father who used his
judgment as a parent to discipline his son,” Hardin said. “He used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas.”
Peterson cooperated fully in the investigation and voluntarily testified before the grand jury for several hours, Hardin said.
“It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury,” Hardin said.

Ray Rice

Peterson’s indictment caps a week that began with Ray Rice being released by the Baltimore Ravens and banned indefinitely by the NFL after video emerged of the running back knocking out his then-fiancee with a punch inside an Atlantic City, New Jersey, elevator.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has since become a target of women’s advocacy groups, who want him removed from office for initially banning Rice for only two regular-season games. Pressure on Goodell increased after he said no one in the league had seen the video of the punch before it was published by TMZ Sept. 8. The Associated Press reported two days later that a law enforcement official it didn’t identify sent the footage to the NFL in April.
Selected seventh overall by the Vikings in the 2007 NFL Draft, Peterson has twice led the league in rushing, including 2,097 yards in 2012. He’s scored at least 10 touchdowns in each of his seven full NFL seasons.
Among active players, Peterson is first in rushing touchdowns (86) and second in yards rushing (10,190).
Last October, Peterson’s 2-year-old son Tyrese died after being hospitalized with severe head injuries. The boyfriend of Tyrese’s mother was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault and aggravated battery in the child’s death.
Peterson in 2011 signed a seven-year deal with the Vikings worth $100 million, according to USA Today. The contract included $36 million guaranteed, the paper said.