Over the weekend, Adrian Peterson turned himself in to Montgomery County Police after a grand jury indicted him on child abuse charges. The Vikings responded by deactivating him for Sunday’s game against the Patriots.
Two days later, things have changed. After posting a $15,000 bond, Peterson is back in Minnesota practicing this week and what do you know, he’s going to play on Sunday.
The Vikings explained their decision in a statement:
Today’s decision was made after significant thought, discussion and consideration. As evidenced by our decision to deactivate Adrian from yesterday’s game, this is clearly a very important issue. On Friday, we felt it was in the best interests of the organization to step back, evaluate the situation, and not rush to judgment given the seriousness of this matter. At that time, we made the decision that we felt was best for the Vikings and all parties involved.
To be clear, we take very seriously any matter that involves the welfare of a child. At this time, however, we believe this is a matter of due process and we should allow the legal system to proceed so we can come to the most effective conclusions and then determine the appropriate course of action. This is a difficult path to navigate, and our focus is on doing the right thing. Currently we believe we are at a juncture where the most appropriate next step is to allow the judicial process to move forward.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and support Adrian’s fulfillment of his legal responsibilities throughout this process.
Let me translate that for you. Adrian Peterson is really, really good at football and we need him back so we can beat the reeling Saints in New Orleans. Got it?
