Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson is in denial about his future with the team and the league, multiple sources told ESPN.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, quoting multiple sources, says Peterson “still has not come to grips with the prospect that his 2014 season has all but officially ended and that his future in the NFL is uncertain.”
Team sources told ESPN that the Vikings don’t foresee the star running back playing with them in the future.
Peterson was placed on the exempt list last Wednesday, less than a week after he was indicted by a Texas grand jury on child abuse charges.
Peterson is accused of abusing the child with a thin, leafless tree branch in Montgomery County, Texas. Peterson, who will remain away from the team until the charges are resolved, denies abusing his son and claims he was disciplining his son the same way he was disciplined as a youth. Peterson’s mother agreed, saying the whippings were “not about abuse, but love.”
Even if Peterson reaches a plea deal on the child abuse charges – his first court appearance is set for Oct. 8, the NFL will severely discipline the running back, sources told ESPN.
Last Friday, Peterson tweeted he passed a lie detector test, which has multiple sources telling ESPN that the tweet is further proof he “really doesn’t get it.”
Meanwhile, prior to kickoff for the Vikings-Saints game in New Orleans Sunday, some fans still showed their support for the running back.
“I support Adrian Peterson 100 percent,” a fan told WCCO. “As a parent, I’ve messed up many times, maybe disciplining my child or doing something I wasn’t supposed to do, but we mess up as parents.”
seen just a couple Adrian Peterson jerseys today… #MINvsNO pic.twitter.com/0pJbeYjfgN
— bengarvin (@bengarvin) September 21, 2014
Other fans weren’t as supportive.
https://twitter.com/KeithRishavy/status/513715936038506498
