After missing their Week 2 match-up against the New England Patriots, the Minnesota Vikings have announced that Adrian Peterson will return to the team this week, and is expected to play this Sunday against the New Orleans Saints.
Peterson was indicted by a grand jury on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child, after he reportedly disciplined his son by spanking him with a switch. Peterson turned himself into authorities, but was released on a $15,000 bail. With all of the attention surrounding the story, the Vikings decided to deactivate Peterson for their game against the Patriots. Now, it appears that he will be back.
“Today’s decision was made after significant thought, discussion and consideration. As evidenced by our decision to deactivate Adrian from yesterday’s game, this is clearly a very important issue. On Friday, we felt it was in the best interests of the organization to step back, evaluate the situation and not rush to judgment given the seriousness of this matter,” Zygi and Mark Wilf (Vikings’ owners) said in a prepared statement.
“At that time, we made the decision that we felt was best for the Vikings and all parties involved,” the Wilfs continued. “To be clear, we take very seriously any matter that involves the welfare of a child.”
“At this time, however, we believe this is a matter of due process and we should allow the legal system to proceed so we can come to the most effective conclusions and then determine the appropriate course of action. This is a difficult path to navigate, and our focus is on doing the right thing. Currently we believe we are at a juncture where the most appropriate next step is to allow the judicial process to move forward. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and support Adrian’s fulfillment of his legal responsibilities throughout this process.”
Peterson appears very likely to play this coming week against the Saints, but he is far from in the clear. He still has a full legal process to take care of, and the Vikings will make their decision based on the legal case. Not to mention, the league will almost certainly be involved.