Adrian Peterson has been reportedly indicted for “reckless or negligent injury” to a child, according to a report from a FOX affiliate in Houston. The Minnesota Vikings star running back, who is slated to play the Patriots on Sunday in the 2014 NFL season’s Week 2 matchup, was indicted by Montgomery County in Texas (his home state).
The charge, according to multiple reports, stem from his disciplining of his own son, and “using a switch” (which, if you didn’t know, means a tree branch in this case). One report claims he “beat his son.”
From the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Dept.: “An unknown police department called the City of Houston police department with a complaint of child endangerment, and Houston referred it to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office where the alleged case occurred. Montgomery County investigated a complaint of “injury to a child” and referred the case to the district attorney. The DA then handed the case to the Grand Jury.”
Peterson missed practice on Thursday, but it was listed at that point to be nothing more than a so-called “veteran day” by Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. The investigation, per Ian Rapaport, has been ongoing for weeks, and Peterson testified a while ago in front of a grand jury.
According to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports, his status for the weekend is now unclear, and could very likely mean he doesn’t play. Clearly, football (as any profession would) becomes secondary in the face of a charge regarding a child, especially when the indicted party is the child’s father.
A truly unfortunate side note to the story is that Peterson actually lost a two-year-old son in 2013 in an incident involving assault, when the boyfriend of the child’s mother abused him to the point where the child lost his life.
