Vikings fumbled in handling the Adrian Peterson situation

The Minnesota Vikings deactivated Adrian Peterson again … or is it re-deactivate … or de-reactivate … or …

Officially Peterson is on something called the “Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission list," which, according to a team press release, the Vikings didn’t seem to know was even an option (or existed, if it even did) until they called the NFL offices again about “revisiting” the Peterson decision.

“The League informed the team of the option to place Adrian on the Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission list, which will require that Adrian remain away from all team activities while allowing him to take care of his personal situation until the legal proceedings are resolved,” Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said in the statement. “After giving the situation additional thought, we have decided this is the appropriate course of action for the organization and for Adrian.”

This all was announced about 2 a.m. ET Wednesday, a middle-of-the-night posting on the team’s website that spoke to the franchise’s embarrassment for the flip-flop.

(Wilf addressed the situation later on Wednesday. Watch the press conference here.)

It was also likely a get-it-out-now plea by the NFL, which would really prefer to end a debate over whether a guy who is accused of whipping a 4-year-old with a stick so many times he couldn’t recall the exact number (10? 15? 20?) should play this week.

And when corporate sponsors such as Anheuser-Busch are grandstanding with scolding press statements, the tipping point has been reached. (Really, has anything played a role in more domestic violence cases than alcohol?)

While some fringe of society protested that such behavior was to be celebrated as good and tough parenting, many more were horrified by details such as Peterson stuffing leaves in the kid’s mouth, striking him across the face and the everything else that constituted “discipline” for a man who rarely spent any time with the boy.

It also frees the Vikings of sitting around wondering when the next switch will drop. One story already came out about a previously investigated injury to another 4-year-old son that was ugly enough even if Peterson avoided criminal charges due to “an adult eyewitness,” Peterson’s attorney said.

Since the running back has been cavalier about his style of discipline there are, common sense says, many more potential terrible headlines out there waiting to be revealed. Peterson has fathered at least seven children with five women. One of them, a 2-year-old boy he never met, died last year due to abuse from another man.

There was literally no amount of yardage that Peterson could gain that would make it smart for the Vikings to continue to play him. They were under siege and exposed for more.

This was corporate survival and the only surprise is that it came to this. The Vikings initially deactivated Peterson and he sat out a listless 30-7 loss to New England on Sunday. The team then reactivated him Monday against all known crisis management logic.

Wednesday's move is what nearly any corporation would do with a high-profile employee dealing with similar circumstances. Peterson will be paid while he is away from the team.

“While we were trying to make a balanced decision yesterday, after further reflection we have concluded that this resolution is best for the Vikings and for Adrian,” the Wilfs said.

“We want to be clear: We have a strong stance regarding the protection and welfare of children, and we want to be sure we get this right,” the Wilfs continued. “At the same time we want to express our support for Adrian and acknowledge his seven-plus years of outstanding commitment to this organization and this community.”

So now the Vikings can begin to move on. Whether Peterson ever plays for the team is anyone’s guess.

He now has great motivation to conclude his case rather than drag it out into next spring, although even if his attorney, Rusty Hardin, can convince a Texas jury that such behavior is right, justified and the American way, there will be plenty of critics.

It's not like Peterson is denying what he did, he’s just saying it was how he was raised and how he believed he should raise others. Some no doubt agree with him.

It’s up to each fan to lean on the wisdom and experience of child psychologists, social service experts and the prosecutor’s office in Montgomery, Texas … or retired NBA power forwards.

In the meantime, the NFL can, perhaps, begin to move past this latest player scandal. The league is desperate for calm to set in after it came under a firestorm of criticism for how it handled the Ray Rice situation.

The league office has worked to remedy some of that by hiring more women into power and continuing with a previous overhaul of how it handles domestic violence circumstances. Then along came Peterson, and it came along again courtesy of the reinstatement.

The NFL knows if it can just get the focus back on the field, or at the tailgates, or in setting fantasy line-ups, or checking the point spreads, then whatever rocks it now will subside.

Football is still football, not just the most popular game in the country, but one completely rooted in its culture.

The bumbling Vikings kept this story front and center for a few extra days … then in the middle of the night tried to put it to bed for good.