Adrian Peterson (NFL/YouTube).
All individuals are multi-faceted, including Adrian Peterson. He was a talented football player and has some redeemable personality traits. However, his ongoing commitment to being a problematic parent is surprising. Peterson has always struggled with the personal aspects of his life. Everyone deserves to be the best version of themselves, and that includes the NFL player (he hasn’t retired yet) and the father of many (at least eight). Let’s talk about the biggest scandal of Peterson’s life and how he doubled down on being wrong years later.
The 2014 Arrest
Peterson was arrested in September 2014 on a charge of felony child abuse. He eventually pled down to a misdemeanor charge that left him with something equivalent to probation, a hefty fine, and parenting classes. The NFL was not pleased with Goodell’s claim that Peterson showed a lack of remorse. The NFL player was suspended for the rest of the 2014 season.
The incident surrounding the arrest is horrific, so if discussions surrounding child abuse upset you, skip the next two paragraphs. The arrest surrounds an incident where Peterson whooped his four-year-old son with the child’s pants down with a switch badly enough that he had extensive bruises and open wounds on the lower half of his body and defensive wounds on his hands. In a report, police state that the child said “Daddy Peterson” hit him in the face, threatened to punch him in the face if he said what happened, stuffed his mouths full of leaves while he whooped him, and had previously beat him with a belt.
What’s possibly worse than the incident itself is how Peterson reacted. He texted the mother of the child, whom he knew would be angry, the message: “Never do I go overboard! But all my kids will know, hey daddy has the biggie heart but don’t play any games when it comes to acting right.” She clearly didn’t agree since she brought her son to the doctors immediately upon his return to her home state, which kicked off the charges. Peterson said he ‘popped’ his son 10–15 times. We will not include the photo of the boy’s injuries that is publicly available since it feels like a violation of the child’s privacy.
Peterson Doubles Down
At the time, the NFL player had no remorse. He stated his intentions were good and that he was disciplined in a similar fashion, which he felt was ‘beneficial.’ Peterson went so far as to say that he went so hard because his son is tough and allegedly did not cry or flinch. The idea that a parent would perceive his child as not responding to a beating as a sign of toughness at just four years old and not an indicator of an emotionally traumatized child is beyond me, but that could be my own childhood trauma speaking.
However, it doesn’t appear that Adrian Peterson is capable of the introspection parents should have. He has old-fashioned concepts surrounding parenting and is unable to open his mind wide enough to consider another way. If he addresses his own parenting, he may have to analyze his own childhood trauma, which would be too difficult. The science has shown for decades unanimously that physical discipline is more harmful than helpful, but it is naive to assume that all people are able to face the facts and reassess themselves. You’re not special, sweetie. And your kids are not ‘extra difficult’ Calm down.
The 2018 Bombshell
Despite all of the parenting classes and a legal charge, Peterson has not learned. In an interview, he said counseling had helped him consider other ways, although that appears to be untrue. He also says that the vilification he experienced from the public was due to a ‘cultural misunderstanding‘ that every child whose parents were not from the same cultural background as Peterson’s but also got whooped rolled our eyes at.
In 2018, Peterson switched up from his ‘counseling’ talk and promises to never use a switch again. As of 2018, he now avoids the switch nine out of 10 times. He also had this doozy of a statement in the interview: “I had to discipline my son and spank him the other day with a belt. There are different ways I discipline my kids. I didn’t let that change me.” Oh heavens no, why would you better yourself when you are shown another way after getting a criminal charge, Adrian Peterson? Why would making a mistake make you want to change your ways? See? Stubbornly wrong and loud about it.
Adrian Peterson’s Childhood Trauma
No matter how frustrating Adrian Peterson’s lack of personal growth is, it would be unfair to judge the NFL player’s hot takes without considering how his own trauma-filled childhood and struggle as a parent have shaped the man we see today. My critiques of Peterson are framed in compassion because he is not a bad person or a father; he’s just misguided. That doesn’t justify him not choosing to do better when he knows better, but it makes it easier to understand.
At just seven years old, Peterson witnessed his older brother die in front of him. Adrian’s nine-year-old brother was hit by a drunk driver who sped through a residential neighborhood. The driver mowed over the boy, and Adrian held his brother in the street while he was already brain dead, later passing away at the hospital. In 2007, Peterson’s 19-year-old half brother was shot and killed in Houston, Texas, the night before his NFL combine. Adrian spent all night praying and channeled the hurt and pain into an impressive performance.
The NFL player’s childhood friends recall that Peterson’s dad was especially over the top with his beatings when he was little, including a legendary beating in school in front of all of Adrian’s peers. When Adrian Peterson was 13, his father was arrested and was in prison for eight years. Those are formative years for a young man that his father was not available for.
Peterson’s Loss As A Father
As a father, Peterson has lost two children. In 2013, the Minnesota Vikings running back lost his two-year-old son, Tyrese. The young child had his life taken by his mother’s boyfriend, who was convicted of second-degree murder. He had several blows to his head that were inflicted by his mom’s boyfriend. In 2015, he lost another son, AJ, to brain cancer at just seven years old, eight months after the child’s diagnosis.
This significant amount of childhood trauma and loss is tragic, and my heart goes out to Peterson. No one should have to experience that much loss and abuse in one lifetime. A parent should never have to bury their own child. Once again, these circumstances don’t excuse his behavior, but they do explain why Adrian is a wounded man who would find it difficult to make that necessary introspection to overcome emotional baggage and choose to do better for his kids.
Adrian Peterson In Recent Years
In 2022, there was a relatively alarming incident when Peterson was arrested for domestic violence. He was having an argument with his wife on a plane when things got slightly physical. He took his wife’s ring off her finger, which left a scratch. This could absolutely be an isolated incident that was a one-time thing. However, often, what happens in public is less extreme than what happens behind closed doors. People’s behaviors also tend to be habits, both good and bad. However, Peterson did have alcohol and domestic violence counseling after the incident, which hopefully was helpful.
2023 brought backlash against Peterson as well after he was cast for Dancing With the Stars season 32. Many fans of the show were furious and lashed out against the NFL player, his partner, Britt Stewart, and the show. It’s an understandable reaction to child abuse, but Adrian Peterson was charged, convicted, and faced the consequences. Can we legally and morally restrict him from doing things like reality TV? Maybe.
2024 Update
This year, we discovered that Peterson is over $8 million in debt. He was back in court opposing a court-ordered debt collector’s sale of his NFL memorabilia and other personal items. The debt collector rifled through his Houston storage units and began to sell things via online auction. The judge halted the sale of items in March until the debt collector provided a full inventory of the items he took. Some items are exempt from selling based on exemptions, so the inventory is obviously important.
Good riddance and good luck, Mr. Peterson. Hopefully, life will get easier for you, and you can do some personal work that will benefit your own life and the lives of your unclear number of kids. Be careful; selling your own NFL memorabilia is never, ever a good sign.
