Adrian Peterson indicted in child injury case

[YoloinOhio]

@CBSNews: JUST IN: Adrian Peterson's case "will be reviewed under the NFL's personal conduct policy." http://t.co/XgfgspEDBl http://t.co/yhe3M2XlDM

[jaybee]

I will never look at Peterson the same way I have ever again. Ashamed of him. And...I think what gets lost in all of this are the young folks that idolize him. High school kids etc.

 

I'd be crushed if I were a young kid and my biggest NFL hero let me down like that. Not exactly a role model you want your kid to idolize. One thing for sure, Adrian wont be in the running for father of the year.

 

What a disgusting story.

Edited September 13, 2014 by jaybee

[FireChan]

 

 

I agree that Peterson thinking it's appropriate because it happened to him changes things. It's precisely why this should be treated harshly and cautiously. As long as he doesn't understand why this is wrong and is willing to do it again, he's an endangerment to that child.

 

I hope he receives harsh punishment from the nfl and some time off, and I hope he uses that time to become educated. With all the resources available to a multimillionaire there's no reason we should ever accept "well that's what I know" as an appropriate answer. If he wanted to learn the best parenting techniques on the planet he has all the money in the world to do so.

 

And that's fine. I'm just not about to call him a scumbag who deserves to be buried underneath the prison. That's all.

[ExiledInIllinois]

http://www.hcna.us/columns/childabuse.html

 

"Spare the rod, spoil the child" looked @ from a non-corporal punishment POV.

 

 

 

 

[stevestojan]

Child abuse. Plain and simple.

 

The argument of "I got beat with a switch countless times and I turned out fine" is simply unbelievable to me.

 

You didn't turn out "fine" if you can look at those pictures of a toddler with numerous cuts on his legs from his father and not think he deserves jail time, you are NOT "fine."

 

What can a 4 year old do to deserve that? The answer is simple: nothing.

[purple haze]

One of the strongest athletes went "a bit" overboard when he beat his child with a weapon?

 

You can try to link this to the evils of participation trophies if you want, but that's not a valid connection. What's valid is that our culture has at least evolved beyond the acceptability of adult men needing to repeatedly hit their children and draw blood to discipline them.

 

How you got any impression of his intent is beyond me. What he did was flat wrong, very wrong, no matter what his intent. Clearly his intent It's not like he struck him one time and went a little too hard. There are marks all over the kid that show he was hit many times. The only way AP looks OK in this story is if the photos are fabricated or someone else beat him.

 

I'm with Bill. Scumbag and goodbye NFL career.

 

One of the strongest athletes could have done much more to a four year old than that if that were his intention. Think about it. I'm not saying he didn't go overboard. He obviously did. But I'm not going to demonize him for disciplining his child in the same way he was. He didn't punch him or kick him. He whipped him. There is a difference. I've seen people get hit with shoes, extension chords, fly swatters or whatever happened to be around at the time they acted up. What I say about our country's culture shift is very valid. It plays a part in this.

 

As I said, many parents/care givers of yesteryear would be locked up by today's standards, which are much "softer" in general. I got whupped with a belt. Everyone I knew growing up, boy or girl, across ethnic lines, received some sort of physical discipline if they weren't in line with the wishes of authority, and often times they got it in front of other people. There was a time when a teacher could swat you. Or a neighbor. Our culture is just different.

 

You call a switch a weapon. It's not seen like that at all where I'm from, and in many other places. It's a form of a belt. From what I gather AP wasn't indicted the first go around. Why? Because many people see it as discipline. Obviously he went overboard, but that doesn't mean he was trying to injure the child or make him a "scumbag." Going forward we will see if anything else comes out. I reserve the right to change my opinion if other information emerges from his children or their mother(s), etc. But right now, jail? I'm not there.

Edited September 13, 2014 by purple haze

[Buffaloed in Pa]

A thug.

[stevestojan]

 

 

One of the strongest athletes could have done much more to a four year old than that if that were his intention. Think about it. I'm not saying he didn't go overboard. He obviously did. But I'm not going to demonize him for disciplining his child in the same way he was. He didn't punch him or kick him. He whipped him. There is a difference. I've seen people get hit with shoes, extension chords, fly swatters or whatever happened to be around at the time they acted up. What I say about our country's culture shift is very valid. It plays a part in this.

 

As I said, many parents/care givers of yesteryear would be locked up by today's standards, which are much "softer" in general. I got whupped with a belt. Everyone I knew growing up, boy or girl, across ethnic lines, received some sort of physical discipline if they weren't in line with the wishes of authority, and often times they got it in front of other people. There was a time when a teacher could swat you. Or a neighbor. Our culture is just different.

 

You call a switch a weapon. It's not seen like that at all where I'm from, and in many other places. It's a form of a belt. From what I gather AP wasn't indicted the first go around. Why? Because many people see it as discipline. Obviously he went overboard, but that doesn't mean he was trying to injure the child or make him a "scumbag." Going forward we will see if anything else comes out. I reserve the right to change my opinion if other information emerges from his children or their mother(s), etc. But right now, jail? I'm not there.

 

HE WENT "OVERBOARD" ON A FOUR YEAR OLD CHILD!!

 

Nevermind, I'm so far from understanding the logic of the other side of this argument it makes no sense to continue discussing.

 

I'm sure that toddler learned his lesson.

 

!@#$.

[Bill from NYC]

I tend to agree. Society needs to send a message that it's an OK thing to beat 4 year olds until they bleed, to include their "nuts"

Gotcha.

Edited September 13, 2014 by Bill from NYC

[birdog1960]

News story giving details

 

Nick Wright on Twitter: "Anyone with a #HotTake on this that is on either extreme of this story I feel is misguided and under-informed of the true facts."

can we stop the ridiculous pretense that players like peterson we're "college" athletes now? his attempts at communication quoted in this story aren't in any way compatible with admission to college much less 4 years of college. it's time to call big time college sports what they mostly are - semi pro. and it's clear that many of the "graduates" of this semi pro college experience are not what would be hoped for. time to change the system. Edited September 13, 2014 by birdog1960

[rfk]

Belechek must have sold another piece of his soul

[Fan in San Diego]

I don't want to pass judgement on this case, but many of us (notably and publically Oprah) were raised in the "go cut a switch" paradigm, where not only were you switched for bad behavior, you were sent out to cut the stick you were about to be switched with. Some "Christian" authors and congregations (the Pearls) still actively practice "spare the rod and spoil the child" where parents not only believe in corporate punishment, they believe they are endangering their children's salvation if they don't teach them to them obey their parents, with physical punishment if necessary.

 

So there is a point where this becomes a debate over these values vs a valueset that says any physical punishment of a child is wrong as much as a debate about what constitutes "excessive" physical punishment and what is acceptable.

 

Texas has a lot of citizens who adhere to the "spare the rod" form of Christian fundamentalism, as well as a good enclave of citizens of more "liberal" and "modern" viewpoints. I can count the number of times I physically punished my daughter on one hand without using my thumb, and it was 3 spanks with a bare hand. There were 3 things that were spankable offenses in our house and that was it. Made a big impression.

 

My in-laws discipline their girls with a wooden spoon or a belt, I don't agree but the kids turned out fine.

 

I have trouble imagining a 4 year old who needs to be switched to the point of leaving marks, and of course if a child has shared custody between two parents, then the parents really have to come to an agreement on what discipline is appropriate or it will end up in the courts, I guarantee it. But if the parents feel they are disciplining and it's not outrageous (hitting with fists, outright cruelty), I really hate to see it become a criminal case rather than a referral for family counseling. Though for all we know it had already gone that route.

 

With my own children I have never spanked them or anything like that. Words, removal of privileges and rewards are all that are needed to shape desired behavior.

[ExiledInIllinois]

AP Stuffing leaves down his throat seems a little premeditated to me.

 

What is this all about... I didn't catch it. ??

[YoloinOhio]

 

 

What is this all about... I didn't catch it. ??

when interviewed, his son said he stuffed leaves in his mouth during the switching.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

With my own children I have never spanked them or anything like that. Words, removal of privileges and rewards are all that are needed to shape desired behavior.

 

Fan, it depends a lot upon your circumstances and what the consequences would be of an infraction before that "shaping" occurs. In other words, I think that's naive.

 

I will give some examples.

 

My young daughter spent a lot of time with us at a local small airport where there are lots of antique airplanes, most with very limited sight distance when they were taxiing We had a rescue dog, who was very kind and gentle towards children and friendly, but had "ghosts" - there were some people to whom she would react by cowering but baring her teeth and even snapping if they reached out for her when she was backing away and showing signs she wanted no part. And animal experts will tell you - you can never 100% know what an animal will do if it's truly hurt.

 

We had three "spankable" offenses. One was crossing the taxi way without a parent holding her hand. Another was running away when called. A third was kicking or hitting another living being. I would explain why it isn't appropriate and what could happen (with a demo if possible) and show the right way to behave and provide positive reinforcement. But children are children and they will test limits faster than they can really understand potential serious consequences.

 

One time she sort of kicked at the dog in a nudging "move" way. I said "no, no (childname)." She looked at me in a "what will you do?" way, hauled her foot back and delivered a healthy kick to the dog, who yelped but took no action. The child got lifted up by her little overall straps, stripped to a bare bottom, and whaled - with my bare hand, but I intended to deliver a message and I did. I explained why before I started and afterwards. She never did that again. Similar sort of story at the airport. She squirmed out of my hand once and tried to run ahead, I caught up with her.

 

I'll be damned if I was going to have my girl scarred for life or made into prop hamburger because I was too prissy to make her respect limits that could cause her serious harm.

 

Before WWI, most of the population heated with wood or coal and lived on farms with attendant hazards including cattle ponds and tanks, large powerful animals, rodent poison, etc etc. Now the auto ages and pavement and add in engine-powered vehicles ripping along rural highways at interstate speeds.

 

To people who still do, concepts like fire-branding and road-proofing or pond-proofing young children make a lot of sense for the same reason - children learn to test limits far younger than they gain a real understanding of the consequences of limits. Kids don't fear abstract concepts like speeding cattle trucks and third degree burns, but they do fear a parent with a switch. That fear may keep them alive until they reach the age of reason.

 

To people who heat with natural gas and keep the furnace locked in the basement and their kids locked in nice fenced suburban yards off streets with 20 mph speed limits, I'm sure that looks like child abuse, but not everyone can (figuratively speaking) pad all the worlds' corners for their child.

 

Do I think AP was a sight too ready with his "whooping" for an offense that was not likely to be fatal to the child and could have been handled in a number of simpler non-physical ways, yes.

Do I think anyone who leaves marks like that on a child is hideous scum or that this is black-and-white child abuse, sorry, no. I've seen child abuse. I've seen children hospitalized for child abuse. I've seen children die from child abuse. And this is not that kind of uncontrolled, unbounded, totally inappropriate, child abuse. The guy clearly loves his son and is more in need of parenting classes than jail time.

 

What this is, is a part of our culture which believes it is never appropriate to use physical punishment on a child, colliding with a part of our culture which believes it is (with limits).

 

when interviewed, his son said he stuffed leaves in his mouth during the switching.

 

That's part of the culture along with "go git you a switch, son". It's supposed to protect the tongue from being bitten.

[ExiledInIllinois]

That's part of the culture along with "go git you a switch, son". It's supposed to protect the tongue from being bitten.

 

I mentioned a few stories told by my father... He was quite the hell raiser and "rebel"... Even back in the old days, late 1940's and 1950's when it was a bit more dangerous to do so. He tells a story about being called into the principal's office for an offense. The principal pulls out three sizes of hoses and askes: "What size do you want me to beat you with?" WTF... He told the principal that he was F!*&ing nuts... Needless to say he eventually dropped out and went to work on the railroad.

 

Is this "pick your switch" culture old school style? What do you do with the hard case children that don't surrender to the screwy authority... Submit? If I ever touched my child in such a way to cause this kind of harm, I'd expect him to attempt to kill me back. Now there is a matter of the young children, Holy Moly, pick on somebody your own size Adrian... I bet he wouldn't pull the BS. He's fatherinig 7 children with 7 different woman? Allegedly? Well right there he is deemed a joke and doesn't even deserve respect from ANYBODY but the baby mamas in his concubine...

Edited September 14, 2014 by ExiledInIllinois

[ExiledInIllinois]

What not a better place than here to post this:

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m39DWVFK-Bw

 

"What's The Matter Here?"

 

 

 

 

That young boy without a name anywhere I'd know his face.

In this city the kid's my favorite.

I've seen him. I see him every day.

Seen him run outside looking for a place to hide from his father,

the kid half naked and said to myself "O, what's the matter here?"

I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's their kid I stay out of it,

but who gave you the right to do this?

 

We live on Morgan Street;

just ten feet between and his mother, I never see her,

but her screams and cussing, I hear them every day.

Threats like: "If you don't mind I will beat on your behind,"

"Slap you, slap you silly."

made me say, "O, what's the matter here?"

I'm tired of the excuses everybody uses, he's your kid, do as you see fit,

but get this through that I don't approve of what you did to you own flesh and blood

.

 

"If you don't sit on this chair straight

I'll take this belt from around my waist and don't think that I won't use it!"

 

Answer me and take your time,

what could be the awful crime he could do at such young an age?

If I'm the only witness to your madness offer me some words to balance out what I see and what I hear.

Oh these cold and lowly things that you do I suppose you do because he belongs to you

and instead of love and the feel of warmth you've given him these cuts and sores don't heal with time or with age

.

 

And I want to say "What's the Matter here?"

But I don't dare say.

[YoloinOhio]

@SBNationNFL: A Vikings fan wearing a Peterson jersey and carrying a switch. Welp. http://t.co/eLZZD72GPp

[26CornerBlitz]

@EyeOnNFL

Charles Barkley talks Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson; says 'we spank kids in the south' http://cbsprt.co/XisqIj

pic.twitter.com/eZiOme3E4I

[NoSaint]

@SBNationNFL: A Vikings fan wearing a Peterson jersey and carrying a switch. Welp. http://t.co/eLZZD72GPp

Their employer should be fired.