Adrian Peterson has maintained for more than a year – since being charged with child abuse for using a switch on his 4-year-old son – that he’s a good father who has a great relationship with his son.
On Tuesday, just days after Peterson won his third career rushing title to help lead the Vikings back to the playoffs for the first time in three years, Sports Illustrated published a story updating the former MVP’s journey back from a personal low.
“I know in my heart there’s not many fathers better than me,” Peterson told SI. “I’m that father that the kids run to. I’m the father they want to wrestle and play with.”
Peterson says counseling has helped him understand there are better ways to discipline a child other than giving them a “whupping.”
For those that judged or continue to judge Peterson as a parent and a person, he simply says “it is what it is.”
“These people don’t know me,” Peterson recently said, according to FOX Sports. “It’s real hard for me as a human being to judge someone based off their perception of a situation without knowing details, without knowing any facts. It would be hard for me to judge anyone, no matter how the situation may look. That’s how people have handled me. I take that for what it is. It is what it is.”
https://twitter.com/AdrianPeterson/status/684089342336208896
As for his place among the all-time greats in NFL history, Peterson isn’t shy.
“There will be guys that come around that people will compare to me, like how they compare Kobe or LeBron to Jordan. Look, Jordan was the best. You haven’t seen anyone like that since,” he said. “There won’t be another Adrian Peterson. There will be a guy that reminds you of me. But there will only be one me.”
Peterson became the third running back age 30 or older to win a rushing title. How many more could he win? Who knows, but he continues to say he wants to play another seven or eight years.
