Adrian Peterson Sheds Light On Broader Issue Of Child Abuse

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson did not play this past Sunday because he was deactivated by his team after being indicted for abusing one of his sons. The Vikings owners, Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf, announced yesterday that Peterson, the teams best player, will be activated for this Sundays game against the New Orleans Saints.

No sane person wants to hurt a child and I have no reason to believe Peterson or NFL commissioner Roger Goodell do not want to do what is best for children. The leagues idea to create a team of four women to combat domestic violence is a step in the right direction. But as uncomfortable and sensitive it may be to discuss, the league needs to include fathering children with single women as part of the conversation.

As study after studyafter study has shown, children raised by a single parent are far more likely to be abused than children raised by two parents. In this article in Psychology Today,David Popenoe, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University, says Fatherless children have a risk factor of two to three times that of fathered children for a wide range of negative outcomes, including dropping out of high school, giving birth as a teenager and becoming a juvenile delinquent.

This is a broader societal problem40.7% of U.S. births in 2012 were to single mothersand its not clear that football players are any worse than the rest of us. But there seems to be little doubt that the NFL has its share of players who have fathered multiple children with different women to whom they were not married.

A good time to have started this discussion could have been five years ago, when New England Patriots All-World quarterback Tom Brady sired a child with actress and girlfriend Brigitte Moynahan. Brady, who subsequently married model Gisele Bundchen, is more than the face of the Patriots, he is a key ingredient to the NFL brand. But no discussion ensued.

Peterson splitting defenders in the 2008 Pro Bowl. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As former Pro Bowl cornerbackTroy Vincent, who retired after the 2006 season, told ESPN two years ago: By the time the player is drafted, theres a pretty good chance hes thoroughly spoiled and surrounded by enablers. Any potential problemwhether its fathering children out of wedlock, shaky financial investments or just irresponsible spending habitscan be overcome because, well, things have always worked out in the past.

Until they dont.

A year ago, Petersons two-year-old sonwhom the All-Pro had only recently learned was hisdied afteralleged abuseby a man who was dating the boys mother. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child and I am by no means trying to pick on the Vikings star and his family. I am simply saying that the NFL needs make fatherhood part of its program to help children. Tom Brady would have been a great place to start. But better late than never.

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Adrian Peterson Sheds Light On Broader Issue Of Child Abuse