Adrian Peterson Spanking or Abuse? See for Yourself

Its been a tough week for the NFL and while we live in Raven country, which is obsessed with Ray Rice, the theme of violence is running through the league like a plaque. Adrian Peterson was indicted this week by a jury for child abuse. He claims he was simply disciplining his 4yr old son, but his peers say he crossed the line. He chose to use twitches to hit his son and there are reports that he put “leaves” into his mouth to stop him from wailing. Suspects, you be the judge and take a look at this picture of some of his son’s injuries. If you want the commissioner’s opinion; which you probably don’t but will get anyway – it this:

Yes there are people who think all spanking is abuse but we know it is a tradition in many circles. Personally, I think it is appropriate in only a few limited circumstances- not a as a tool to get your kid to do whatever you want. It should be reserved for the most egregious violations and the child MUST be old enough to understand why he is being spanked. Most importantly, no parent should ever spank a child out of anger or frustration. That is a clue that the spanking is more about you and not about discipline. Peterson’s case looks like he was angry and frustrated. Read the facts below from this CBS Houston Report.

Your thoughts? Should he be banned from the NFL?, Punished? or have his bitch ass spanked too.

EXCERPT FROM THE OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION AND INDICTMENT

The “whooping” – as Peterson put it when interviewed by police – occurred in Spring, Texas, in May. Peterson’s son had pushed another one of Peterson’s children off of a motorbike video game. As punishment, Peterson grabbed a tree branch – which he consistently referred to as a “switch” – removed the leaves and struck the child repeatedly.

The beating allegedly resulted in numerous injuries to the child, including cuts and bruises to the child’s back, buttocks, ankles, legs and scrotum, along with defensive wounds to the child’s hands. Peterson then texted the boy’s mother, saying that one wound in particular would make her “mad at me about his leg. I got kinda good wit the tail end of the switch.”

Peterson also allegedly said via text message to the child’s mother that he “felt bad after the fact when I notice the switch was wrapping around hitting I (sic) thigh” and also acknowledged the injury to the child’s scrotum in a text message, saying, “Got him in nuts once I noticed. But I felt so bad, n I’m all tearing that butt up when needed! I start putting them in timeout. N save the whooping for needed memories!”

In further text messages, Peterson allegedly said, “Never do I go overboard! But all my kids will know, hey daddy has the biggie heart but don’t play no games when it comes to acting right.”

According to police reports, the child, however, had a slightly different story, telling authorities that “Daddy Peterson hit me on my face.” The child also expressed worry that Peterson would punch him in the face if the child reported the incident to authorities. He also said that he had been hit by a belt and that “there are a lot of belts in Daddy’s closet.” He added that Peterson put leaves in his mouth when he was being hit with the switch while his pants were down. The child told his mother that Peterson “likes belts and switches” and “has a whooping room.”