Peterson Allegations Give Vikings A PR Challenge
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The decision to let Adrian Peterson play has made an impact on the Vikings' image.
When the Vikings responded to Peterson's child abuse charge on Friday by deactivating him for Sunday's game, fans WCCO talked with were supportive.
"Yes, I do think he should have been deactivated for yesterday's game to get a little more insight on what's going on," said Aletha Commers of Crystal, Minn.
But now--things have changed.
The team announced Peterson will suit up this week for practice and the game.
Media analyst Blois Olson says the decision isn't necessarily good or bad from a PR standpoint, since Peterson is still awaiting trial.
"I don't know that I'm surprised," Olson said. "I think the interesting thing is they made the decision on Monday. They clearly want to keep this going forward, and they want to get back to football."
Most of the fans we talked with didn't agree with Peterson's behavior, but did agree with the Vikings' decision to let him play--for now.
"I don't agree with what he did, no, but it has nothing to do with his job ," one fan said.
Others called the decision disappointing.
"I think that it's not worth winning games to have somebody go unpunished doing things like he's done," said Scott Lenz of Minneapolis.
As to the lasting impact this could have on the Vikings and the NFL brand?
It will take time to see how the court case unfolds, and how fans respond.
"I don't know if I'll be cheering for him, but I'll be thinking of him because I know he's in a hard spot right now ," Commers said.
