The Vikings yesterday used RB Adrian Peterson “as the face of ‘Family Day’ at their training camp,” tweeting a picture of Peterson kissing his son, according to Will Brinson of CBSSPORTS.com. The decision to promote Peterson is “awkward" because of his involvement last year in an "incident involving his child and an allegation of abuse” (CBSSPORTS.com, 8/3). In N.Y., Mark Sanchez wrote if the Vikings are "trying to rebrand Adrian Peterson, this was a clumsy first attempt" (NYPOST.com, 8/3). Also in N.Y., Justin Tasch wrote of "all the photos the Vikings could've posted ... they decided to use the one that would undoubtedly cause the biggest uproar" (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 8/3). YAHOO SPORTS' Frank Schwab wrote it is "hard to imagine that was done without knowing the context" or the fact that it "would draw some attention" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 8/3). The N.Y. Daily News’ Ralph Vacchiano said, "I guess the message is now we can forget that a year ago he took a tree branch and beat the kid." Vacchiano: "The NFL has done some really stupid things in the past couple of years, and this one’s right up there in terms of bad PR. You would think that maybe they would know by now that the image problem that they had runs very, very deep" (“Daily News Live,” SNY, 8/3).
TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS: ESPN’s Michael Smith noted some people may say it is "too soon" for the Vikings to promote Peterson for something like Family Day, but he said, "I actually do like this though, because I said from the very beginning ... the only thing that should be of importance was his relationship with his child, if he got better as a father." Smith: "Based on what he's at least said, he has gotten better. This may seem like doing too much on the surface, but when you think about it and step back, he’s the perfect person to highlight.” ESPN’s Jemele Hill: “It just seemed like a little too soon, but I get it” (“His & Hers," ESPN2, 8/3).
