Adrian Peterson's Mother Defends Son Amid Child Abuse Allegations

Amid allegations of child abuse, Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson has been deactivated indefinitely from the team, per NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal. On Wednesday, the NFL star's mother, Bonita Jackson, came to her son's defense over his alleged disciplinary methods.     

Cindy Horswell of the Houston Chronicle reported what Jackson had to say, and how Peterson's upbringing may have influenced the conduct that has him under recent siege.

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Jackson said that both she and his father, Nelson Peterson, who lives in Dallas, were 'big disciplinarians' with their children as they grew up, She said she used her hand, switches and belts to occasionally spank all of her six children in order to correct their behavior. 

'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 in Spring, a Houston suburb. '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.' [...]

'My son is not a perfect man by no means, but in the end I'm proud to be his mom,' she said. '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.'

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Jackson indicated that she is in touch with the mother of Peterson's four-year-old child, whom he is accused of hitting with a switch. The mother, according to Jackson, thinks highly of Peterson as a father.

"But when we talk to her, we can hear him laughing and playing in the background. He sounds happy," said Jackson. "I know his mother has much respect for Adrian. She knows he's a good father, no matter how much people attack his character. Only God can judge us."

Mark Berman of MyFox Houston 26 originally reported Friday that Peterson was indicted for "reckless or negligent injury to a child" in Montgomery County. Since the complete facts about Peterson's case have yet to emerge, both the Vikings and the NFL have been faced with a difficult dilemma on whether to let Peterson play or not.

The team deactivated Peterson ahead of its Week 2 matchup. On Monday, Vikings owners Zygi Wilf and Mark Wilf provided a statement announcing that Peterson would then suit up in Week 3.

Minnesota acted swiftly on Wednesday after initially stating that Peterson would play, per Fox Sports' Jay Glazer:

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports weighed in on the Vikings' decision:

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has had to deal with a fair share of player conduct issues as of late. Before the Peterson controversy surfaced, the scandal surrounding Baltimore Ravens RB Ray Rice transpired. That may continue to loom, as Rice has filed his appeal paperwork, per CNN.com's Steve Almasy.

With Peterson's status in perpetual doubt, he, the Vikings and the league will continue to wait until there is some legal finality to whatever has happened.