Peterson booking for child abuse sparks debate

Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson’s booking on a child abuse charge Saturday has created another crisis for the embattled NFL, already derided for not responding strongly enough to acts of domestic violence by its players.

It also has touched off a national debate about the role of corporal punishment in parenting.

In the eyes of a Texas grand jury, Peterson crossed the line when he repeatedly struck his son with a tree branch, or switch, in May. Peterson’s attorney has said he has never run from what happened – and that Peterson was inflicting the same discipline he endured as a child.

“Obviously, parents are entitled to discipline their children as they see fit, except when that discipline exceeds what the community would say is reasonable,” Montgomery County Prosecutor Phil Grant said about 12 hours after Peterson was booked and released from jail on a $15,000 bond. He is charged with causing injury to a child age 14 or younger.

Peterson, one of the NFL’s most popular players and widely considered one of the best running backs to ever play, flew from Minnesota to Houston in the early morning hours after authorities indicted him on Friday evening. He has a home in both locations.

The Vikings almost immediately decided to deactivate him for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots, and NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said on Saturday that Peterson’s case “will be reviewed under the NFL’s personal conduct policy.”

Peterson’s case is complicated by his stance that he meant his son no harm but rather was applying the same discipline he experienced growing up.

It’s not unusual for people subjected to physical discipline as children to use corporal punishment against their own children, experts say, and courts will sometimes consider that as a mitigating factor when sentencing an abuser. Peterson faces up to two years in prison and a $10,000 fine if found guilty.

Snyder backs Goodell

Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder says he supports NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, stating he “has always had the best interests of football at heart” and “we are fortunate to have him.”

The team released a two-sentence statement following a week of criticism of Goodell and his handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence case. Video of Rice punching his then-fiancee became public and Goodell says he never saw it until it surfaced.

The Associated Press reported a law enforcement official sent the video to the league in April.

Around the league

The St. Louis Rams have signed defensive end Robert Quinn, 24, who led the NFC with a franchise-record 19 sacks last season, to a four-year contract extension through the 2019 season. …Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice attended a football game at his high school in a New York City suburb. WABC-TV in New York reports that the recently released running back attended the game at New Rochelle High School with his wife, Janay Rice, and their daughter.