Vikings Adrian Peterson Is Counting His Blessings One Year After Being Accused of Child Abuse
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson insists he's blessed after having to overcome scrutiny when he was accused of physically assaulting his child last year.
Peterson, 30, made headlines in September 2014 when news broke claiming that he abused his 4-year-old son whom the football star struck 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.
"I look at everything and I'm just like, 'Here I am, still standing,'" Peterson, who's back with the Vikings and gearing up for his 2015-2016 NFL season, 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.
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"I think I'm better in a lot of different ways. It's me being comfortable in my own skin and knowing where my heart was and what type of person I am," he added. "And then getting that confirmation from my kids, who love me. With that, it kind of makes things easier.
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. "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."
The NFL star has undergone his share of scrutiny, but also received support from Minnesota church leaders last year. The Stairstep Foundation, a network of churches and community members, spoke in favor of the Christian athlete.
Rev. Alfred Babington-Johnson, head of the Stairstep Foundation, previously spoke to the Minnesota Star Tribune about his network looking into Peterson's situation to ensure "fairness and clarity." While Babington-Johnson insisted that he does not condone child abuse, he did suggest that he wanted Peterson's incident to be examined further by the NFL because of possible cultural differences in disciplining members of the black community.
"Much of the public discussion dominated by European American talking heads has not demonstrated any sense of legitimate cultural difference," Babington-Johnson said. "Our community is not monolithic. We have different points of view, but we believe that our broader views are not being reflected."
These days, Peterson is setting his sights on the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a six-time Pro Bowl player who believes he has the potential to be one of the best players of all time.
"Not just the greatest running back," Peterson said in a Star Tribune report. "The greatest player."
