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Changing our minds on Adrian Peterson: A story in 10 poll questions

Sentiment toward Adrian Peterson has shifted pretty dramatically as his legal troubles played out. Here's a look.

By Howard Sinker

February 25, 2015 at 4:29PM

The Minnesota Vikings eeked out a 23-20 overtime win over the Chicago Bears in an NFL football game Sunday afternoon, December 1, 2013 and Mall of America Field in Minneapolis. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) stiff armed Chicago Bears free safety Chris Conte (47) as he gained 21 yards on an overtime run. Conte was penalized for a horse collar tackle on the play. ] JEFF WHEELER ‚Ä¢ jeff.wheeler@startribune.com ORG XMIT: MIN1312011630212430 (Colleen Kelly — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

49% No, it's time for both sides to move on 2071

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

42% Suspend him during the legal process. 2693

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

32% Release him outright. 2247

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

27% Total Votes 8470 Two days later, when the Vikings reinstated him, we asked how you felt about that:

Agree 5436

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

34% Disagree 8972

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

56% Not sure 1654

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

64% No 4331

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

36% Total Votes 12073 Then we asked if Peterson would ever play for the Vikings again:

Yes 1716

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

35% No 3139

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

72% Yes, but not until he serves a longer suspension 2174

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

10% No, he should not play again for the Vikings 4090

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

43% No 5575

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

30% No 3882

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

77% No 1843

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

66% No 2159

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

49% No, it's time for both sides to move on 2085

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

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.

about the writer

Howard Sinker

Digital Sports Editor

Howard Sinker is digital sports editor at startribune.com and curates the website's Sports Upload blog. He is also a senior instructor in Media and Cultural Studies at Macalester College in St. Paul.