Adrian Peterson To Play In Week 3 After Child Abuse Arrest

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adrian peterson

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Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will return to the team and play in Week 3, the team announced on Monday.

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Peterson was deactivated before Sunday's game against the New England Patriots after being charged with reckless or negligent injury to a child in Texas on Friday. He turned himself in on Saturday.

The Vikings released the following statement explaining the decision:

"Today's decision was made after significant thought, discussion and consideration. As evidenced by our decision to deactivate Adrian from yesterday's game, this is clearly a very important issue. On Friday, we felt it was in the best interests of the organization to step back, evaluate the situation, and not rush to judgment given the seriousness of this matter. At that time, we made the decision that we felt was best for the Vikings and all parties involved.

"To be clear, we take very seriously any matter that involves the welfare of a child. At this time, however, we believe this is a matter of due process and we should allow the legal system to proceed so we can come to the most effective conclusions and then determine the appropriate course of action. This is a difficult path to navigate, and our focus is on doing the right thing. Currently we believe we are at a juncture where the most appropriate next step is to allow the judicial process to move forward.

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We will continue to monitor the situation closely and support Adrian's fulfillment of his legal responsibilities throughout this process."

According to CBS Minnesota, Peterson admitted to police that he did "whoop" his four-year-old son as part of what he called a "normal spanking," resulting in injuries.