As Adrian Peterson prepares to appear in court Wednesday for his arraignment on child abuse charges, his representatives are also working on refuting claims made in the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s investigative report of the Minnesota Vikings running back.
The Star Tribune outlined a number of issues surrounding his charity, the All Day Foundation, claiming that it lied about donations and filed contradictory financial reports. Bruce Richman, who now runs the charity, has since responded to the report and pointed out numerous inaccuracies in the article, per Pro Football Talk.
According to Richman, many of the issues that surrounded the charity can be traced back to prior to 2011, before Peterson hired a new management team to oversee his foundation.
However, Peterson’s representative did not deny that he was involved in an orgy in 2011 in an Eden Prairie, Minn., hotel room. But Peterson’s lawyer, Rusty Hardin, dismissed the claim that a foundation credit card was used to pay for the hotel room like the Star Tribune originally reported, adding that his client did not even have access to the charity’s credit card.
Hardin’s full statement via ESPN’s Josina Anderson can be found below.
“Adrian did not have a foundation credit card and did not use the foundation’s funds for personal expenses. There is no question that prior to 2011, issues existed with the administration of Adrian’s foundation. When this was brought to his attention, Adrian made changes to the organization and brought in new leadership. Since that time, the foundation has given more than $1.4 million to many worthy causes, including many to organizations that benefit children. Importantly, while many foundations are structured such that they can donate only what money the foundation raises, Adrian instead has seen fit to contribute his own funds to this charitable work. Adrian and his family are understandably proud of the foundation and the good work that it has done and continues to do.
“We are in the unfortunate position that today, like so many other days, there are more stories about Adrian, fueled by nothing more than his fame. Given the multitude of allegations that inevitably flow against a public figure, we will no longer try to respond to each and every new unfounded charge. We will simply hold our comments for the trial that Adrian is entitled to in a forum that has rules and requirements of proof.”
Photo via Bruce Kluckhohn/USA TODAY Sports Images
