Justice Is Served

Adrian Peterson is suspended without pay for the rest of the season.

MAYBE longer.

As I've been saying all along, it isn't so much what he did was wrong, it's that he never acknowledged that what he did was wrong. He copped a "no contest" plea at the trial simply to be done with the matter and said he, "regretted the incident." He never once admitted that what he was accused of doing was wrong. If anything, he did just the opposite. In interview after interview he maintained that he only did what he thought was right. He also said he'd not change that behavior in the future.

The NFL was looking for remorse, a respectful change of attitude from Peterson. What he gave them, with the assistance of a greatly inappropriate player's union, was proud defiance.

That didn't sit well with those in power, and as a result, he is done for the season.

What I truly LIKE about the punishment is that he must undergo counseling and rehabilitation and prove that he can change or has changed his mistaken belief that beating a child is somehow a responsible method of discipline. Until he changes his way of thinking, he will not be allowed to play in the NFL again for any team.

I want to emphasize once more that I believe spanking is always an option for a loving parent, and that beating a child is not the same thing. It would be like a parent taking a child to the dentist because he has a toothache and the dentist knocking all of his teeth out with a hammer versus a dentist gently drilling away a small part of one tooth and repairing it with a permanent filling.

BOTH are examples of violence to a child's mouth, but only one of these methods is the correct, necessary approach.

People who don't have spanking as an option on the table for child discipline are just as bad as Adrian Peterson who beats his child. Sometimes it may have to be done and it should be done. It would be like having a child's teeth full of cavities and not allowing a dentist to drill those teeth. Eventually the teeth will be rotten, just like the unspanked child.

Some children won't get cavities. Some children won't need to be spanked. Those children are rare. The point of being a parent is to being wise enough to know the difference. If your child is acting rotten, give him the proper dentist treatment once in a while.

Knocking his teeth out is not the proper treatment.