Minnesota Vikings Suspend Adrian Peterson: 'We Made A Mistake'

The Minnesota Vikings NFL team announced this week that they have reversed course and decided to suspend running back Adrian Peterson in the wake of charges of child abuse.

The team's owners announced Tuesday that they would be putting Peterson on the commissioner's exempt list until his legal troubles are resolved, meaning the running back will be indefinitely suspended from practicing or playing with the Vikings.

Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said they will allow Peterson to "take care of his personal situation until the legal proceedings are resolved."

"After giving the situation additional thought, we have decided this is the appropriate course of action for the organization and for Adrian," the statement from the team owners added.

"We made a mistake, and we needed to get this right," Zygi Wilf added in his own statement, with Mark Wilf said: "The main thing is we constantly strive as an organization to do the right thing, and it's a fluid situation here and it's an ongoing process."

Peterson was indicted last week in Texas on charges of injury to a child after he reportedly whipped his four-year-old son with a switch as a form of punishment.

Earlier this week, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton implored the NFL team to suspend Peterson until his legal situation was sorted out. "It is an awful situation. Yes, Mr. Peterson is entitled to due process and should be 'innocent until proven guilty.' However, he is a public figure; and his actions, as described, are a public embarrassment to the Vikings organization and the State of Minnesota. Whipping a child to the extent of visible wounds, as has been alleged, should not be tolerated in our state."