Pothole Prairie by Tim Engstrom

As far as off-the-field transgressions in the NFL go, the Adrian Peterson case might seem like an open-and-shut case, but it sure becomes a doozy of an onion when all the layers are peeled back.

See, everyone including Peterson agrees he hit his then-4-year-old son with a switch in May at his home in The Woodlands, Texas. Anyone who didn’t know what a switch was before his case hit the national conversation in September now knows. (Heck, many stories about the appeals and lawsuits don’t even recap what started it all anymore.)

Peterson was indicted in September in Conroe, Texas, for reckless or negligent injury to a child. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault in November. He is to pay a $4,000 fine and serve 80 hours of community service. Anyone in America who follows news closely saw some photos of the welts and bleeding the child had. Reports described the boy having them on his back, legs, buttocks, genitals and ankles.

Guilty. Case closed, right?

For most people, he would have done his court sentence, hopefully learned a lesson and moved on with life.

And for most NFL players, it would have been a suspension of a few games, in addition to the court sentence, and back to the field.

But Peterson’s case had the coincidence of coming on the heels of the NFL’s major screwup in handling of Ray Rice’s wife beating, which was captured on video for the nation to witness. The NFL needed to send a message for all domestic abuse. Adrian was to be an example of the NFL’s new stance on domestic abuse.

Other complicating factors are that beating a child with a switch is more accepted in Texas and some places down that way. Peterson, who grew up in Palestine, Texas, was beat with a switch as a child. Little known to us up here in Minnesota — where we prefer sending kids to their room — is an entire public dialogue in Texas where people feel like what  Peterson did to his kid is not wrong at all.

What’s more, the NFL Players Association, which is the union for the players, makes a point that the league cannot hand down punishments in a capricious, inconsistent manner and without due process. There is a collective-bargaining agreement to which the league must adhere, it says. The NFLPA filed suit Monday on behalf of Peterson.

There’s more. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell noted when he suspended Peterson for the remainder of this season — in fact, out of football without pay until April — that he noticed Adrian showed a lack of remorse. What’s more, there was an audio file release over this past weekend that also illustrates Peterson does not get it when it comes to the public’s view of his crime. Peterson told a league vice president: “How much more you all want from me?” He also noted he had already lost $4 million in endorsements and missed nearly all the season.

That same NFL vice president seemed to tell Peterson he would get a suspension of two games but the actual punishment was harsher. Last week, an arbitrator sided with the NFL, saying the conversations were informal and not binding.

Peterson has hinted he might retire from football and pursue real estate or even seek to become an Olympic sprinter.

What a quagmire.

In forming an opinion of what should be done, it’s hard to discern any semblance of equity and fairness, right and wrong. I do know I was glad Peterson was out of football for the rest of this season. He didn’t merely strike his child with a stick. From reading the court files, it was clear he got carried away with hitting the boy, way too carried away. Just stay off the field.

And I know people are happy to say he should be out of football for good. Any mercy would be supporting child abuse, in their view.

But I remember my criminal justice class in college and appreciate the way the professor, a hard-boiled former San Francisco police officer who could make the craziest chalkboard notes, used to weigh and balance criminal offenses: He said the point of punishment is to correct the behavior. Sometimes, that can be accomplished with a warning in a traffic stop. In some situations, it’s necessary to send people to prison for life for the safety of the general public.

By my professor’s standard, I’d say it is doubtful Adrian Peterson would commit this crime again. Even if he isn’t showing remorse the way people want him to publicly — remember, we don’t get to see his personal side much, so perhaps he has — considering his interest in playing sports, he surely would weigh that before he harmed his child.

Next time, Adrian, do this: Pick up the boy in trouble, carry him to his bed, close the door, come back a half hour later and have a conversation about what he did wrong.

Let Peterson play football for the 2015 NFL season. I don’t say this as a football fan. I don’t care about his money. I don’t care whether he plays for my Vikings or not. (I am more of a fan of Teddy Bridgewater and Charles Johnson anyway.) I say this because I believe Peterson’s behavior has been corrected.

I remember one other thing my surly professor said: America gives people second chances.

 

Tribune Editor Tim Engstrom’s column appears every Tuesday.