Adrian Peterson's mother: He is 'trying hard to be a good parent'
The mother of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson defended her son Wednesday as he faces a felony charge for hitting his 4-year-old son with a switch as a form of discipline.
In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, Bonita Jackson said she and Peterson's father were "big disciplinarians" with their children.
• Adrian Peterson: 'I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser'
From the Houston Chronicle:
"I don't care what anybody says. Most of us disciplined our kids a little more than we meant sometimes," Jackson, 50, said in an interview from her home. "But we were only trying to prepare them for the real world."
"When you whip those you love, it's not about abuse, but love," Jackson added, accompanied by her current husband, a Baptist minister. "You want to make them understand that they did wrong."
Jackson also said Peterson is not perfect, but she is proud to be his mother.
Peterson was deactivated for the Minnesota Vikings' game last Sunday against the New England Patriots and reinstated on Monday. On Wednesday morning, the Vikings placed him on the Commissioner's Exempt List. The team says he will not play until the legal process is finished.
- Sarah Barshop
