Shutout said:
If Peterson sits and loses this season and then the legal system basically says "Ok, you're ok. Nothing going on here", then Peterson will go from being the perpetrator to a victim
Oh stop it. He beat a four year old child. Remember, that's not in any doubt. Peterson admitted to doing it, there are pictures, etc. In that way, this case is fairly unusual. If Peterson denied the allegations, I'd be right there with those who say he should have his day in court. But he admitted to beating the child, he just doesn't think it was wrong to do so.
Whether or not a Texas jury finds him guilty of a crime has little bearing on whether he should represent the NFL. He may very well be acquitted in court, but he
still beat a four year old child. In terms of how the NFL should handle the case, I really couldn't possibly care less about what verdict he gets in Texas. That's a separate issue.
Calling him a victim in this context is a huge stretch. Perhaps he's a victim of a ####ty upbringing. Perhaps he's a victim of a culture that never taught him that beating toddlers is wrong. You can make excuses for him but people are still responsible for their actions, and he's a grown man - an elite athlete - who used physical violence on a little kid. Let's not lose sight of who the victims really are.