One of the fundamental questions a lot of folks are wrestling with in the case of Adrian Peterson and charges of child abuse is this: did he act maliciously in a situation where there is no grey area, or can his behavior be explained (if not excused) by the environment he grew up in and a Southern culture many of us don't know or understand?
To us, the answer is probably somewhere in the middle, whereby Peterson is most definitely a product of a different environment and upbringing, but within that acceptance 1) there needs to be growth from generation to generation and an understanding that how he was punished growing up isn't necessarily right and 2) even if we continue with the "this is how it is" leeway, within that construct he went well over the line with the extent of the punishment he doled out.
Two prominent former athletes, both black, weighed in on both sides of the matter recently. We'll give you a quick snippet of what each said on camera, with links to the full video.
Said Charles Barkley: "I'm from the South. … Whipping, we do that all the time. Every black parent in the South is going to be in jail under those circumstances."
Said Cris Carter, talking about his upbringing: "My mom did the best that she could do … But there are thousands of things that I have learned since then that my mom was wrong. This is the 21st century; my mom was wrong… And I promise my kids I won't teach that mess to them. You can't beat a kid to make them do what you want them to do."
Of course, Carter also said he was proud of the Vikings for de-activating Peterson. We're assuming he'll have more to say now that the Vikings have announced Peterson is expected to play next week.
Your thoughts, as usual, in the comments.
