One of Minnesota’s U.S. Senators has joined the state’s governor in urging the Vikings to deactivate Adrian Peterson.
Shortly after Governor Mark Dayton said the Vikings should not play Peterson while he is under indictment for injuring his son, Senator Al Franken released a statement saying the same.
“It was absolutely heartbreaking to hear about what happened to this child,” Franken said in a statement. “I’m a diehard Vikings fan, and watching the games on Sundays has been one of my favorite things to do since I was a kid. But this is just wrong, and I think the Vikings made the wrong decision here. This is in the hands of law enforcement now, and it must go through the judicial process, but I don’t believe Adrian Peterson should be allowed to play until that happens. A lot of kids look up to these players, and it’s not OK for the Vikings to send the signal that what happened is acceptable. This is bigger than a football game.”
The Vikings initially sat Peterson out of Sunday’s game when he was indicted, but they said on Monday that they would put Peterson back on the field this week. Since then they have lost a corporate sponsor over the Peterson case and been the subject of criticism from a governor and a senator.
So far, the Vikings aren’t backing off their support of Peterson. But at this point last week, the Panthers were supporting Greg Hardy, their defensive end who is accused of a domestic violence incident. By Sunday, the Panthers had decided that they simply couldn’t play Hardy. Don’t be surprised if the Vikings come to the same conclusion in the next five days.
