Heatman
Footballguy
Duped into the commissioners exemption list? lol You don't think he knew what it meant to be on that list? He and his agent knew what was going on at the time and they both knew it was going to happen and why.They tried to stand by him? Really. For that day and a half until they realized it was not a popular side to support? That to me is a joke.This is a joke right? The way THEY treated HIM? They did what they had to do. They tried to stand by him but the court of public opinion led to sponsors leaving in droves so they did what they had to do or let the team be crushed financially. He is the one who made the mistake and as of yet has refused to take any responsibility for it.cstu said:I said last year when this was happening that there was no way he would play again for the Vikings after the way they treated him.
I think even Peterson realized they they needed him to go away until his court case was resolved-that his situation was to toxic at the time. I think he could have gotten over being duped into being put on the commissioners exempt list. But by the time his case was resolved the public furor had died down considerably. Still the Vikings still sat idly by, never offering him any public support on a level higher up than the coaching ranks. When he got suspended for the season and later lost his appeal they never tried to stand by him as you say, instead simply issuing statements saying they supported the NFL's decision.
I'm not even convinced the Vikings really want him back. But by publicly supporting him after the fact they get to shift the blame on Peterson when this relationship breaks up. They want their fans to think in the end the relationship ended because Peterson wanted out, not them. And oh, if it helps generate a trade market for him instead of other teams just sitting back thinking they can pluck him up in FA that's not so bad either.
So then tell me what would you have done if you were the owner of a billion dollar business? No if you were the owner of the Vikings. You have Peterson and everything he has done for the team. You want to support him but the court of public opinion is crushing your franchise and your sponsors are backing out on you. Also the NFL is on you not only because of this situation but because the Ray Rice and Greg Hardy situations are also going on and things are not looking good for the NFL or your team reputation wise? You stand to lose a TON by keeping him on the field not only financially but your reputation is on the line as well. The Vikings like many other teams have had a lot of bad publicity in the past and it's not easy to get that back.
If it's me I have my coaches continue to let people know we think he needs to be with the team. I keep my upper management and myself quiet other than supporting the NFLs disciplinary decisions to keep my sponsors. Why? Because if I don't do this my team gets destroyed by the media and the public and I spend the next decade or more trying to get past this instead of a year or two.
Now I have been on Petersons side this whole time. I think it was a mistake and in no way do I think he will continue to discipline his children that way. I've always wanted him back and I pretty much still do. For a while I thought he should restructure but even that is not necessary to me. What I do want to see is him take some responsibility though. From what I have seen he has not done that. He has done what is required by the NFL for reinstatement but nothing beyond that. I would love to see him come back and retire as a Viking but even Adrian Peterson needs to understand that what he did was very bad and he needs to take responsibility for that instead of trying to play the victim.
Edited to add: I don't think the NFL or the Vikings are perfect in any way and a lot of this was trying to save face for both. But I do think in this case given all the circumstances the team did what they had to do. As far as the NFL, the sooner the Goodell era ends the better.
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