Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson has been indicted by a Montgomery County, Texas, grand jury on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. The team deactivated him for Sunday's home game against the Patriots.
Adrian Peterson's attorney said Friday that Peterson used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced growing up in east Texas.
Peterson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, told ESPN.com in a text that Peterson "certainly will" surrender to authorities.
Hardin issued a statement Friday saying his client's conduct "involves using a switch to spank his son." According to a report by Sports Radio 610 in Houston, Peterson removed the leaves of a tree branch, which he referred to in a police report as "a switch," to strike the child.
"This indictment follows Adrian's full cooperation with authorities who have been looking into this matter. Adrian is a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son," Hardin said in his statement. "He used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas. Adrian has never hidden from what happened."
Hardin said Peterson has cooperated fully with authorities and voluntarily testified before the grand jury for several hours.
"Adrian will address the charges with the same respect and responsiveness he has brought to this inquiry from its beginning," Hardin said. "It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury."
The Vikings released a statement earlier Friday saying they're in the process of gathering information about Peterson's legal situation and deferred comment to Hardin..
Last October, Peterson's 2-year-old son died in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after being allegedly assaulted by a man who was dating the boy's mother. Peterson learned only two months earlier that he was the boy's father. The man who assaulted the boy, Joseph Robert Patterson, was charged with murder and manslaughter.
The Houston station, citing law enforcement sources, said Peterson told police that the incident -- he referred to it as a "whooping" -- occurred in Spring, Texas, in May as punishment for his son pushing another one of Peterson's children. The boy suffered cuts and bruises to areas including his back, buttocks, ankles and legs.
Peterson reflected on his loss in an August interview with ESPN.com Vikings reporter Ben Goessling.
"It's just made me stop taking things for granted," said Peterson, who turned 29 in March. "Life is short. You never know. You just want to take advantage of the time you do have."
Peterson, in his eighth NFL season, rushed for 10,115 yards through his first seven full seasons as a pro, the fifth-most for any running back in NFL history during that specific time frame.
