Yesterday, star running back Adrian Peterson was indicted in Texas for reckless or negligent injury to a child. The Vikings immediately deactivated the player for their game against the Patriots, and they also released a brief statement:
“The Vikings are in the process of gathering information regarding the legal situation involving Adrian Peterson. At this time, we will defer further questions to Adrian’s attorney Rusty Hardin.”
Hardin also commented on the indictment (via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press):
“Adrian is a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son. He used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas. Adrian has never hidden from what happened. He has cooperated fully with authorities and voluntarily testified before the grand jury for several hours. Adrian will address the charges with the same respect and responsiveness he has brought to this inquiry from its beginning. It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury.”
There were also a couple of details that emerged overnight. Let’s take a look…
- Peterson turned himself in to Texas authorities this morning at 2:06am ET, tweets ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The writer notes that he was expected to be released on a $15K bond.
- However, Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reports (via Twitter) that Peterson will be released on a $21K bond.
- According to Nick Wright of CBS Houston, the incident happened in May following an argument between two of Peterson’s children. The running back admitted that he “whooped” his son, and was surprised by the police interest.
- Sports Illustrated’s Michael McCann describes the legal punishment Peterson could face. If he is convicted of reckless injury to a child, a potential sentence could range anywhere from two to ten years. If convicted of negligent injury to a child, Peterson would face 180 days to two years in prison.