Former New England Patriots linebacker and current ESPN NFL analyst Tedy Bruschi blasted the Minnesota Vikings for their handling of the Adrian Peterson situation during his weekly segment on WEEI’s “Dale & Holley Show” Thursday.
Bruschi laid into the organization for their decision to reactivate the running back after deactivating him over the weekend in the wake of being indicted on child abuse charges in Texas. The Patriots Hall of Famer said the entire situation “sickens” him, and that the Vikings “failed” by being so lenient.
“It sickens me. It sickens me, guys. I’m even more upset that he’s already back,” he said, via WEEI.com. “The message was sent. The statement’s out. It looks like the Vikings are all good with it. He’s back with the team and it looks like he might play. You can’t change what happened, but going forward, their opportunity to make a difference and to send a message to all athletes, they dropped the ball. They failed.”
Bruschi added that if he were Peterson’s teammate, he would have a tough time not only accepting the organization’s decision to reinstate him, but also a tough time treating him the same way.
“Let’s say I’m a Minnesota Viking. He gets reinstated and he’s probably with the team right now,” Bruschi continued. “It’s something to where, now I shake my head because my organization decided to put him back to us. It’s not like I’m going up to him, shaking his hand, giving him some dap and giving him a hug, ‘Welcome back, man, it’s good to have you.’ I can’t do that. I can’t do that based on what I know has happened.”
The Vikings are also sending the wrong message letting Peterson play, Bruschi argued, and downplaying the incident only reinforces to athletes that there are no significant repercussions for their actions.
“I think it’s an unreasonable message they’re sending to athletes in high school and college that this happened, the news came out, Adrian Peterson said that he saw a psychologist, it’s all good and now he’s back with the team. These professional athletes, they’re entitled. They feel entitled. I know what it feels like,” said Bruschi. “Now this happens, OK, I got deactivated for a game but now I’m back, guys. I believe he still got paid for that game and now I’m back.
“But there’s no accountability. There’s no accountability for some of these guys. They’re sending a message that athletes are entitled. They’re special. There’s special treatment for the exceptional athlete, because if Adrian Peterson wasn’t a former MVP and the best running back in the league, he’s gone. Believe that. Believe that. So, I don’t know what kind of message they’re trying to send in Minnesota, in Carolina, in San Francisco. I just wish they’d go, ‘This is what I believe in. This is wrong. This is the action that I’m taking.’”
