Behind Perfect Image Lay an Imperfect Human Being
With a new season, a new coach and a $1 billion stadium on the way, the Minnesota Vikings turned to their undisputed star last summer to appear on the team’s yearbook cover: Adrian Peterson, standing confidently in a dirty purple jersey.
In an accompanying interview, Peterson said it was easy being the public face of the Vikings because “I don’t really get into a lot of trouble.”
Just a few weeks later, he was indicted in Texas on charges of whipping his child, and now a Hall of Fame career has come to a jarring halt. Peterson is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday, and he remains on a paid suspension from the Vikings until the case is resolved.
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On the field, Peterson has been a breathtaking athlete, seeming to relish running over defenders even more than running past them. Raised by a single mother in rural Texas — his father was a felon — he had grown up to sign the richest running-back contract in NFL history. Off the field, his winning smile and modest, gentle demeanor made him one of the NFL’s most bankable players. In one of countless volunteer events recounted by Vikings staff, Peterson took children holiday shopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods last year, spending more than $100 on each child. Some of the most prominent corporate brands in America, such as Nike and General Mills, have linked their image with No. 28.
Sometimes, that has meant looking past incidents of questionable judgment and troubling behavior.
Records examined by the Star Tribune show that Peterson, who was married earlier this year, has fathered at least six children out of wedlock. Two of them, a boy and a girl, were born to different mothers a month apart in May and June 2010, according to birth records.
Peterson also has had several scrapes with the law in Minnesota and Texas, two involving nighttime carousing. In 2011 he was the subject of a six-month police investigation of alleged criminal sexual misconduct during a night of partying at a Twin Cities hotel; no charges were ever filed. And while Peterson is well-known for his generosity to local charities, his own charitable foundation has filed contradictory financial records.
http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/278137431.html