Adrian Peterson Learned to Keep Trust in God After Suspension
After being publicly shunned and suspended indefinitely for allegedly beating his 4-year-old son with a switch, Adrian Peterson learned to keep his trust in God.
"I learned a lot. One thing I definitely learned was always keep your trust in God and don't put your trust in men," Peterson said on a conference call Dec. 2, according to News Tribune. "Because men, we're flesh, and we'll turn on you quick to do what works in our best interest or make decisions based off of opinions of someone or a situation. So just keeping trust in God."
The 30-year-old Minnesota Vikings running back made headlines in September 2014 when news broke that he abused his son with a stripped tree branch, resulting in severe lacerations. Although his no-contest plea allowed him to continue with the 2014-2015 NFL season, the league officially decided he would remain suspended without pay until April 2015.
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Now that he is playing at a top level again, Peterson is crediting his faith for being able to stay consistent on the football field.
"Just kind of staying in my own lane, having faith in God and knowing that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," Peterson said of his ability to dominate in the NFL. "That's the philosophy I live by, so I just kind of program my mind to become stronger and be a better player as I continue to go in his league."
The Christian athlete said he actually enjoyed the time off that he was given during his suspension when he was given an opportunity to live a different lifestyle.
"Well, I stayed prayed up, that helped me get through it, but actually, I really enjoyed it, to be honest with you. I kind of got a sense of what it would be like if I was retired," he said. "Being around my kids and being able to take my kids to school and pick them up from school, not waking up at 8 o'clock every day, 7 o'clock every day to get ready for work. I enjoyed it; So it kind of was like, 'Man, I could get used to this.'"
Earlier this year Peterson insisted he was blessed after having to overcome scrutiny in the media.
"I look at everything and I'm just like, 'Here I am, still standing,'" Peterson told the Star Tribune. "I'm stronger than I was before. My son loves me. I'm still blessed at the end of the day.
While Peterson admitted that he was bitter toward people who judged his situation, he also defended himself and maintained his faith in God close to one year after he made headlines for the potential child abuse scandal.
"(People) were so quick to jump and make their own assumptions and opinions not knowing what happened," Peterson said in the Star Tribune. "I'm looking at it and, yes, it looks bad, but you don't know exactly what took place so how can you sit there and judge and say this and say that like you were there watching? That's why I don't put trust in man. I put my trust in God."
