So these are the results of the latest Star Tribune question on whether the Vikings should keep Adrian Peterson:
# of votes % of votes Yes, he's vital to the team's success in 2015 2026
49% No, it's time for both sides to move on 2071
51% Total Votes 4097 To put it mildly, Vikings fans have gone back and forth on Peterson as his issues with the NFL and the Vikings have played out.
In the beginning, on September 15, we asked what the Vikings should do with Peterson when reports of his child-abuse case were first made public.
Reinstate him during the legal process. 3530
42% Suspend him during the legal process. 2693
32% Release him outright. 2247
27% Total Votes 8470 Two days later, when the Vikings reinstated him, we asked how you felt about that:
Agree 5436
34% Disagree 8972
56% Not sure 1654
10% Total Votes 16062 The next day, he was suspended again -- and wouldn't play for the rest of the 2014 season. Did you agree with the call?
Yes 7742
64% No 4331
36% Total Votes 12073 Then we asked if Peterson would ever play for the Vikings again:
Yes 1716
35% No 3139
65% Total Votes 4855 That was it for our Peterson questions until early November, when Peterson's legal case was settled and we asked if he should rejoin the Vikings. That's when we saw the first change of heart.
Yes, he should rejoin the team right away 16305
72% Yes, but not until he serves a longer suspension 2174
10% No, he should not play again for the Vikings 4090
18% Total Votes 22569 On November 17, after the NFL suspended Peterson for the rest of the season, we asked if you agreed with the decision:
Yes 4162
43% No 5575
57% Total Votes 9737 A month later, when the NFL denied Peterson's appeal, you didn't like that by an even greater margin:
Yes 1670
30% No 3882
70% Total Votes 5552 On New Year's Eve, we asked if you wanted Peterson to return to the Vikings -- and most were on board with that:
Yes 6090
77% No 1843
23% Total Votes 7933 Earlier this month, when Peterson came to Minneapolis to appeal his suspension in court, we asked if you thought Peterson would play for the Vikings in 2015. You did:
Yes 4269
66% No 2159
34% Total Votes 6428 And, once again, after Peterson said the Vikings didn't support him as much as he would have liked and his agent had a verbal altercation with a Vikings official, we asked one more time if you want Peterson back. Right now, you pretty much can't make up your mind.
Yes, he's vital to the team's success in 2015 2043
49% No, it's time for both sides to move on 2085
51% Total Votes 4128 We'll see how you feel about this on April 15, when Peterson is eligible to be reinstated -- and maybe even again (and again) as the story plays out. Keep in mind, this isn't scientific polling. But we can make a pretty good argument these 10 polls do a pretty good job of tracking how the mood toward Peterson has shifted back and forth.