Adrian Peterson Reinstated

[PsyDanny]

WARNING: May hurt some feelings!

Bingo!

[Norv Zimmer]

I hope Adrian saw that.

[Purple bruise]

I usually can't stand Smith but he is spot on with his rant

[Texas Vike]

I usually can't stand Smith but he is spot on with his rant

Totally agree, that was great. For once, his over the top, emotional yelling and theatrics were warranted!

[Mothman]

I'm tired of all this moralizing about Peterson.

I was clicking through channels during lunch last week and I saw that rant by Smith when it aired. I figured it would go over well. After all, they were shooting the proverbial fish in a barrel and reinforcing widely-held opinions. It was obvious Smith and Bayless wanted a softball lobbed their way and Smith, in particular, appeared to have a great time swingin' at it. Of course, he didn't have his facts straight but why worry about the details? For example, there's never been a report confirming that Peterson tested positive for marijuana use while on probation (or at any other time, as far as I can tell) and he has expressed remorse for the incident with his son more than once. Those are just details and since Smith and Bayless apparently never received the personal apology they were expecting from Peterson, he never expressed remorse.

Of course people don't have sympathy for Adrian Peterson. He's a rich, privileged guy who did something most of us find terribly wrong (more than one thing, depending on your point of view). On the other hand, it seems to be of no consequence to most people that he himself was a victim of the kind of discipline he applied to his son. He repeated learned, but sadly misguided and repugnant, behavior. It's well-established that abuse is often cyclical but in that clip, Smith seemed more enamored with pummeling Peterson with his own moral superiority than in actually considering the ramifications of a question like "do you sympathize with Adrian Peterson?". It's easy to fuel public outrage about a privileged athlete and more difficult to consider a simple question like that more deeply. What must it be like to be a beloved, iconic figure in a sport you love and then suddenly find yourself reviled by millions? On top of that, what is it like to realize (perhaps quickly, perhaps only gradually) that you've deeply hurt someone you love by repeating abusive behavior? How does it feel to realize the very same type of behavior has shaped you as a person and led you to become someone you don't want to be? There's no turning back for Peterson, ever. He'll have to deal with the ramifications of what he did for the rest of his life and because he's famous, because this has all been so public, even if he is able to fully repair his relationship with his son this may further impact that relationship down the road, as his son gets older.

I don't know if Peterson is the loving parent he says he is but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because I understand how badly growing up in a dysfunctional environment can mess someone up and as far as I'm concerned, that is deserving of sympathy. When it comes to his contract and money issues, he's on his own. I don't care and I don't sympathize with that aspect of his situation, although I understand it.

Before anyone feels the need to launch into yet another post specifying in graphic detail what Peterson did to his son, or to accuse me of excusing his behavior by referring to him as a victim, let me quote the following from Susan Milligan, a writer for U.S. News, who wrote the following in a column last September. The bold emphasis is mine and I agree with the view expressed therein:

The point here is not to say that it’s OK for Adrian Peterson to beat up his child. It’s not to fall into some liberal caricature, excusing violent behavior by saying someone “had a bad childhood.” The point here is to understand where child abuse, in particular, comes from – sadly, it comes from family patterns. Kids who are beaten are more likely to beat their own children. Approximately a third of abused or neglected children go on to abuse their own children, according to Safe Horizon. You’d think that someone who was neglected or mistreated as a child would be determined to be a loving and gentle parent, but that’s not how the human psyche works. Familiarity is a powerful tool. Abused as a child, Peterson predictably has been accused of abusing his own children – and continues to defend the indefensible treatment USA Today reports he received during his own childhood.

It's easy to condemn violence toward children and condemn the "beast" that is the Vikings star running back for hurting his son. It's a lot harder to consider that there's more than one victim in this story and there has been from the start, to really think about what happened, why it happened, and understand that it's not just bad because a huge man harmed a small child but also because of the tragic consequences such actions can eventually have. the cycle of abuse which sometimes results from such behavior. Human beings can really mess up other human beings and when that happens, you get situations like this. Aren't the results of bad or questionable parenting one of the main reasons we emphasize the importance of good, responsible parenting?

It's hard to see Peterson himself as a victim because most of us don't want to see him as a victim. However, take a moment to picture him as a boy, being whipped with a belt by his father in front of 20 of his schoolmates, and maybe it will get a little easier. I know, you would think such experiences would have taught him not to behave the same way as his father once he himself became an adult but unfortunately, psychologically speaking, things don't necessarily work out that way.

As for Stephen A. Smith: he's clearly not the only who can go off on a long rant. However, he's a professional sports journalist. The least he could do is get his facts straight. Better yet, he could could actually try providing his audience with something more considered than the same shallow moralizing that can be found online in droves.

[Boon]

I love Stephen A Smith. Dude is hilarious. That rant was so real hahahaha

[losperros]

I'm tired of all this moralizing about Peterson.

I was clicking through channels during lunch last week and I saw that rant by Smith when it aired. I figured it would go over well. After all, they were shooting the proverbial fish in a barrel and reinforcing widely-held opinions. It was obvious Smith and Bayless wanted a softball lobbed their way and Smith, in particular, appeared to have a great time swingin' at it. Of course, he didn't have his facts straight but why worry about the details? For example, there's never been a report confirming that Peterson tested positive for marijuana use while on probation (or at any other time, as far as I can tell) and he has expressed remorse for the incident with his son more than once. Those are just details and since Smith and Bayless apparently never received the personal apology they were expecting from Peterson, he never expressed remorse.

As for Stephen A. Smith: he's clearly not the only who can go off on a long rant. However, he's a professional sports journalist. The least he could do is get his facts straight. Better yet, he could could actually try providing his audience with something more considered than the same shallow moralizing that can be found online in droves.

Get his facts straight? Sorry but not Smith's style. His job seems to be to make noise, any kind of noise, regardless the right or wrong of it.

I'm not just talking about his latest regurgitation about Peterson either. Smith has been locked on nonstop blowhard mode for years. At least that's how I see it.

[PurpleMustReign]

Adrian Peterson is a victim!!

This thread about him has turned into a civil discussion about NFL Contracts!! Will the suffering never cease??

[Mothman]

Get his facts straight? Sorry but not Smith's style. His job seems to be to make noise, any kind of noise, regardless the right or wrong of it.

I'm not just talking about his latest regurgitation about Peterson either. Smith has been locked on nonstop blowhard mode for years. At least that's how I see it.

That's how I see it too, Craig.

Frank Caliendo does a pretty funny impression of Smith:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rz-yulRIsw

[mossbutt]

Apparently Adrian signed his contract under duress. His father was standing behind him with a switch.

The dillweed, brain dead, numbnutted, halfwit really doesnt know spit from shinola.

[Jordysghost]

Get his facts straight? Sorry but not Smith's style. His job seems to be to make noise, any kind of noise, regardless the right or wrong of it.

I'm not just talking about his latest regurgitation about Peterson either. Smith has been locked on nonstop blowhard mode for years. At least that's how I see it.

Yea he's not even close to as bad as his partner in crime Skip Bayless.

[DK Sweets]

Apparently Adrian signed his contract under duress. His father was standing behind him with a switch.

The dillweed, brain dead, numbnutted, halfwit really doesnt know spit from shinola.

Thank you, mossbutt, for that well rationalized post.

[losperros]

Yea he's not even close to as bad as his partner in crime Skip Bayless.

I know what you mean. Bayless is annoying, too.

[Funkytown]

Wow.

Josina Anderson ‏@JosinaAnderson

Filed to ESPN: #Vikings RB Adrian Peterson has informed me that he's in Minnesota and that he's planning to attend OTAs starting today.

[PurpleMustReign]

Wow.

Omg!

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