Adrian Peterson admits he STILL spanks his son with a belt - four years after child abuse charges were dropped against the star running back who 'whooped' his kid with a switch so hard it left CUTS and BRUISES all over his body'
Adrian Peterson shamelessly admitted he still spanks his son with a belt - four years after felony child abuse charges were dropped against the football star who admitted he 'whooped' the child so horrifically he was left with lacerations and bruises.
The Washington Redskins running back, 33, said in a new interview with
Bleacher Report ahead of the team's Thanksgiving game versus the Dallas Cowboys: 'I had to discipline my son and spank him the other day with a belt.'
Peterson was the Minnesota Vikings star running back in 2014 when he was indicted for reckless or negligent injury to a child for allegedly beating his then four-year-old son as punishment, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
The 2012 NFL MVP admitted to police that he gave his son a 'whooping' with a switch - a term he used to describe a leafless tree branch - while the boy was visiting him in Houston.
Peterson, who was in Minnesota training with his team ahead of a game at the time, was deactivated from the roster after his indictment by a Texas grand jury went public.
He told Bleacher Report this week that his son was tough and didn't even cry or flinch at the time.
'My kids are different... they have my blood in them, they have my genes in them,' he insisted.
'It's crazy when you think about it. But for me, it's not. I know my kids. I know what they're capable of, and I know the types of things they do.'
Adrian Peterson shamelessly admitted he still spanks his son with a belt - four years after felony child abuse charges were dropped against the football star. The Washington Redskins star is pictured November 18 before a agame
These horrific pictures show the cuts and bruises on the then four-year-old's arm that Peterson caused by using a leafless tree branch
During the incident, Peterson’s son had pushed another one of his children off of a motorbike video game, according to details from
CBS Houston.
As punishment, Peterson grabbed the branch, removed the leaves and struck the child repeatedly.
According to doctors, the beating resulted in numerous injuries to the boy, including cuts and bruises on his back, buttocks, legs and scrotum.
Peterson then allegedly texted the boy's mother about the incident, saying that one wound in particular would make her 'mad at me about his leg. I got kinda good with the tail end of the switch,' according to CBS.
Peterson, who was with the Minnesota Vikings at the time he was charged with felony child abuse, is seen smiling in this 2014 booking photo
In further text messages, the football star said he 'felt bad after the fact when I notice the switch was wrapping around hitting i (sic) thigh' and that he “got him in nuts once I noticed.
'But I felt so bad, n I’m all tearing that butt up when needed! I start putting them in timeout. N save the whooping for needed memories!'
He also texted the boy's mother: 'Never do I go overboard! But all my kids will know, hey daddy has the biggie heart but don’t play no games when it comes to acting right.'
The child offered police a different version of events, telling them Peterson hit him on the face and that he feared further punishment for talking to the authorities about what happened.
He said that he had been hit by a belt and that 'there are a lot of belts in Daddy’s closet.'
The boy also said that Peterson put leaves in his mouth when he was being hit with the switch while his pants were down and told his mother that his dad 'likes belts and switches' and 'has a whooping room.'
The Vikings promptly benched him for their game on September 14, 2014 against the New England Patriots
Peterson's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, confirmed the indictment to
Fox 26 in Houston, which originally broke the story.
'Adrian is a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son,' according to Hardin's 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. He has cooperated fully with authorities and voluntarily testified before the grand jury for several hours.'
The statement added that Peterson 'deeply regrets the unintentional injury'.
In fact, Peterson didn't think there was anything wrong with his actions when he was interviewed by police, telling them he only used 'whoopings' or spankings as a last result.
When asked if some of the marks on the boy's body were from an extension cord, he said 'Oh, no, I’d never hit my child with an extension cord. I remember how it feels to get whooped with an extension cord. I’d never do that', CBS reported.
After Peterson's four-year-old boy returned home to Minnesota, his mother took him to a doctor, who found a number of lacerations on this thighs, bruise-like marks on his lower back and buttocks and cuts on his hand.
A police report said the boy told the doctor that Peterson had hit him with a branch from a tree.
A doctor described some of the marks as open wounds and called it 'child abuse'. Another agreed, and called the cuts 'extensive'.
Peterson told investigators when they questioned him that he regarded the incident as a normal spanking - nothing extreme.
A grand jury held that summer declined to charge him. Another one was impaneled in Montgomery County, Texas, and decided to pursue the indictment.
Ultimately, his felony child abuse charge was reduced to misdemeanor domestic violence as part of a no contest plea deal.
'Child abuser' Adrian Peterson admits he still hits his son with a belt | Daily Mail Online
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