Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, revered for years as one of the nicest guys in all of sports, is turning out to be anything but nice or reasonable when it comes to administering discipline to his children.
According to KHOU 11 in Houston, the second case against Peterson, which has not yet resulted in criminal charges, arose after he administered a “whooping” to another four-year-old son by creating a head wound that reportedly left a scar over the boy’s right eye.
In a chain of text messages with the boy’s mother, Peterson admits that the wound occurred as Peterson disciplined the boy for cussing at a sibling.
Per the report, Peterson never admits what he struck the boy with, but Peterson told the boy’s mother, “Be still n take ya whooping he would have saved the [scar].” No charges were filed, according to the report. The boy’s mother filed a report with Child Protective Services; the outcome of the investigation is unclear.
The fact that Peterson faces allegations in a separate case compels the league to aggressively investigate both incidents, and to take action against Peterson, if the league determines that Peterson did what he is accused of doing. Failure to act promptly would suggest a level of indifference to child welfare that justifiably should make fans equally indifferent to the NFL.
UPDATE 9:50 p.m. ET: Peterson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, says that the allegation against Peterson is “simply not true.”
