I don't usually cover sports on this blog but since this is both a political, criminal and cultural issue I'll let it pass. Besides, it is a very disturbing case. For those who don't follow sports or American news, here is a recap of the allegations.
Adrian Peterson is one of the best running backs to ever play football and he currently plays for the Minnesota Vikings. He is accused of disciplining one four year old son with a "switch", which is a stick with the leaves taken off used for whipping. According to the police report he hit his son so hard with the switch that he broke the skin and drew blood. In addition, the boy had injuries to his leg, buttocks, ankles and testicles. Peterson had also been accused of hurting another son, somehow giving him a head injury severe enough to cause a scar.
What's my take on it? I saw the photos in both cases and I can't imagine this being in any way justified. I won't link to them since they are fairly graphic and I'm not really comfortable posting pictures of injured children but 10 seconds on google will find the images if you really want to see them for some reason. I'm opposed to corporal punishment in general, and if I ever have kids I won't spank them, but there is a huge difference between a light swat on the backside and what happened in this case. I'm no fan of spanking but I can see some situations where it might be justified to do so, or at the very least understandable. For example, if a kid was running into traffic and got rescued it might be ok to spank then. But I can't ever see a situation where it would be ever ok to do this to a four year old. Or an adult for that matter.
Which is why I decided to write something up for this case. So many people in comment sections on the Peterson case were looking at this case and were saying "what is the big deal?" I've got news for those people. If you hit your kid hard enough to draw blood then it's not discipline, it's abuse. If you hit your kid hard enough to leave any lasting mark then it's probably abuse. Again, I'm no fan of spanking or corporal punishment but if you have to spank your child then there is a right way to do it and a wrong way. If it involves a weapon like a switch or causes any kind of wound you went too damn far.
I'd like to think that most of these people either didn't see the pictures or are just misguided fans but unfortunately I think there are way too many parents out there who think there is nothing wrong with what Peterson did. I know there are cultural differences at play here, but even though i was spanked as a child it was never anywhere as severe as this case and I can't imagine anyone doing this to a four year old. There is nothing they could do that is so horrible that they would deserve this. Even if you support spanking, you should be able to see that this was a case of disproportionate response.
And the most shocking thing to me is that Peterson had a child die due to child abuse. He didn't do it, and he didn't have a relationship with his son, but the case was a result of discipline gone wrong. You would think that he would have had that in the back of his mind when he was thinking of ways to punish his children. The sad fact of it is that is extremely easy to accidentally hurt or kill a child when you use this kind of punishment, which is a lesson Peterson should have learned. I don't know what was going on in his head but I am thinking it was less "he needs to learn to correct his behavior" and more "I'm mad as hell and this kid is going to pay".
As for the case itself, I won't talk much about what should be done. I do say that he does deserve his day in court, even if it seems to me that he is very obviously guilty. I don't know if keeping from making a living is justified since he hasn't been convicted yet, but I completely understand the kind of pressure the Vikings and the NFL are getting on this case, especially given all the other scandals they have been having lately. I certainly won't lose any sleep over it but something about the situation does make me a bit uncomfortable. I'll support due process for anyone and Adrian Peterson is entitled to it just like any other citizen. I don't like extrajudicial punishments without either civil or criminal findings of liability, but I also don't like child abusers.
And if I have any advice for parents out there it would be this. If you absolutely have to spank your child, and I don't think any parent should have too unless it's a life or death situation, please don't do what Peterson done. Don't spank while angry, don't use a weapon, don't leave a mark and for God's sake don't take it too far. Children are so fragile and it's way easier to injure or kill them then most people think.
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