Adrian Peterson sounds like he doesn't know what to do with himself.
The Minnesota Vikings running back hasn't said too much publicly since he was indicted in September in a case involving him giving his 4-year-old son injuries after hitting him with a switch, but he talked to ESPN.com after his appeal to the NFL for reinstatement was denied. He sounded like someone who just graduated college and has no idea what to do next.
He's going to sue the NFL. Or, he's just going to retire, even though he's in his prime. He can dive into his real estate business then. Or maybe he'll change gears and at age 29 start training for the Olympics.
One meandering quote from the story summed up his uncertainty.
"I've considered retiring from the NFL," Peterson told ESPN.com. "I still made $8 million dollars this year. I've thought about getting back into the real estate (business in Texas) I'm already in. That's something I've been interested in, something I'm involved in. I've thought about getting back into that. I've thought about going after the Olympics -- you only live once. It might be time for me to pursue that, as well. I love playing football, don't get me wrong, but this situation is deeper than that. For me, it's like, 'Why should I continue to be a part of an organization or a business that handles players the way they do? Making money off the field anyway, why not continue to pursue that (Olympic) dream and pursue other dreams and hang up the cleats?'"
Peterson obviously isn't pleased with the NFL. The NFL put him on the exempt/commissioner's permission list when he was indicted. When he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault, he wasn't reinstated. He was suspended for the rest of the season and his appeal didn't work. Now what?
The ESPN.com story said a lawsuit from Peterson against the NFL might be filed in federal court as soon as Monday. The story said if that lawsuit would put his chance for reinstatement by the NFL at risk, he might just walk away from football. He talked about competing in the 200- or 400-meter race at the Olympics, and while he is a world-class athlete, that's no easy road. He told ESPN.com he would miss football if he did retire, but he believes the NFL hasn't handled his situation well and he's upset that "They're painting you out to be a guy that you're not."
While the retirement and Olympics talk seems to be the ramblings of a player frustrated to miss almost the entire season, with no idea what his NFL future holds, he talked about realizing during his lost season how much he has missed like hosting Thanksgiving and planning to host Christmas celebrations at his house.
The ESPN.com story showed that we're still a long way from knowing what will happen with Peterson in the future. He's clearly considering every option.
No comments:
Post a Comment