In her first public comments since her son's indictment for child abuse, Adrian Peterson's mother, Bonita Jackson, has come to the running back's defense. Jackson said that Peterson has six kids and "wants to be a good father to them all," ESPN reported.
"When you whip those you love, it's not about abuse, but love," Jackson, 50, said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle. "You want to make them understand that they did wrong."
The Minnesota Vikings barred Peterson from all team activities when they placed him on the NFL's exempt list early Wednesday morning. Peterson will remain on the exempt list until his child abuse case is resolved. Peterson's indictment stems from a whipping incident that reportedly left bruises and cuts on his 4-year-old son.
"I don't care what anybody says," Jackson said. "Most of us disciplined our kids a little more than we meant sometimes. But we were only trying to prepare them for the real world."
The Vikings have been criticized for their handling of the situation in which Peterson was deactivated for week two and reinstated the following Monday, only to be placed on the NFL's exempt list two days later. Minnesota governor Mark Dayton argued in an issued statement that Peterson should not be allowed to play while the case is pending. Dayton said that Peterson's actions "are a public embarrassment to the Vikings organization and the state of Minnesota."
Peterson's mother continued to defend her son in the face of this immense public scrutiny.
"My son is not a perfect man by no means, but in the end I'm proud to be his mom," Jackson said to the Chronicle. "For the most part he is trying hard to be a good parent, he's working at it. People are judging him, but they don't know his heart. This was never his intent."
