Here we go again.  Another week and another problem for the NFL.  This time around the player in focus is Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson.  He was deactivated for last week’s game as child abuse allegations surfaced.  Peterson allegedly injured one of his children while using a “switch” in an act of discipline.

I am not a parent but I can speak about corporal punishment based on being on the receiving end as a kid.  I had the best parents a kid could ask for and I am very fortunate that my mother is still alive.  I was a handful as a kid.  I’m a handful as an adult.  Even when mom is over my house and she wrestles through the drawer looking for a wooden spoon my first reaction is to run to the dining room table and get ready for “the chase.”  Dad was a “belt guy.”  The sound of that belt unbuckling has carved an indelible tattoo on my subconscious.

So what is my point here?  Simple.  Time out wasn’t an option for me.  It simply wouldn’t reinforce the point of discipline that I needed to behave.  I never looked at what my mother and father did as “abuse.”  I misbehaved and I deserved it.  To hit a child with a switch is beyond my comprehension but keep in mind that is how Adrian Peterson was disciplined as a child.  It doesn’t make it right by any means but keep in mind what we allow is what we teach.  In order for us to evolve as a society it’s necessary for us to acknowledge or mistakes and correct or behavior.