Early Wednesday morning, just past 1:00AM EST to be exact, the owners of the Minnesota Vikings, Zygi and Mark Wilf released a very powerful statement placing their star running back and former NFL MVP, Adrian Peterson, on the commissioner’s exempt list and thereby suspending Peterson indefinitely prohibiting him from any and all team activities.
The stunning reversal by the Vikings came after a twenty-four hour whirlwind of pressure from angry fans and sponsors after General Manager, Rick Spielman announced that the team reinstated Peterson early Monday morning. “We believe he deserves to play while the legal process plays out,” said Spielman in a condescending and naïve statement to the media.
Peterson is charged with felony child abuse for beating his four year old son with a wooden stick, or “switch” in early May. In addition to Peterson’s indictment in Montgomery County, TX on felony child abuse, new allegations from an incident that took place in June of 2013 have now been released in which Peterson beat a different four year old son of his for allegedly cursing at one of his siblings. In the pictures we published yesterday, Peterson caused a 3-inch scar over the boy’s right eye.
Similar to a Washington politician, the Vikings flip-flopped on their decision to reinstate Peterson after their bottom line was put in jeopardy: money. Minnesota Vikings sponsor, Radisson Hotels suspended their sponsorship with the team on Tuesday becoming the first domino to fall.
Shortly thereafter, Castrol Motor Oil, Special Olympics and Mylan Inc., all ended their individual sponsorships with Peterson as well. Nike pulled Peterson’s jersey in their stores in Minnesota and huge league wide sponsors, Anheuser-Busch, McDonalds, PepsiCo., Campbell’s Soup, Visa and others released strong statements stating that they did not approve of how the NFL was handling all of the criminal activity and controversy surrounding their league.
Once their profits were at risk, the NFL placed a call to Zygi and Mark Wilf to “rethink” their decision to reinstate Peterson. After a few hours of deliberation, they released the following statement:
“While we were trying to make a balanced decision yesterday, after further reflection we have concluded that this resolution is the best for the Vikings and for Adrian,” claimed the owners. “We want to be clear we have a strong stance regarding the protection and welfare of children, and we want to be sure we get this right. At the same time we want to express our support for Adrian and acknowledge his seven-plus years of outstanding commitment to this organization and this community.”
In addition to the NFL and Vikings sponsors, the governor of Minnesota, Mark Dayton, spoke publicly on Tuesday calling for the Vikings to suspend Peterson indefinitely.
“After giving the situation additional thought, we have decided this is the appropriate course of action for the organization and for Adrian,” said the Wilfs in their statement. “We are always focused on trying to make the right decision as an organization.
“We embrace our role – and the responsibilities that go with it- as a leader in the community, as a business partner and as an organization that can build bridges with our fans and positively impact this great region. We appreciate and value the input we have received from our fans, our partners and the community.”
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