New York Post Columnist Phil Mushnick Thinks Adrian Peterson Is to Blame For His Son’s Death

Oct 13, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) is hugged by Carolina Panthers safety Mike Mitchell (21) following the game at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Panthers defeated the Vikings 35-10. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t really know what to say about this piece from much-maligned New York Post media columnist Phil Mushnick claiming Adrian Peterson is to blame for the death of his 2-year-old son, so I’ll just reprint his more incendiary words and let you come up with your own responses.

The gist of the piece is that the media spend too much time deifying athletes and not enough time scrutinizing their character. Somehow this veers into the accusation that Peterson is a bad guy who shouldn’t be admired. Mushnick writes:

"The suspect in the beating murder of Peterson’s 2-year-old is the boyfriend of Peterson’s “baby mama” — now the casual, flippant, detestable and common buzz-phrase for absentee, wham-bam fatherhood.The accused, Joseph Patterson, previously was hit with domestic assault and abuse charges.With his resources, how could Peterson, the NFL’s MVP, have allowed his son to remain in such an environment? Did he not know, or not care? Or not care to know? Or not know to care?Peterson couldn’t have provided his son a better life, a longer life?Money can’t buy love, but having signed a $96 million deal, he could not have provided his child — apparently his second from a “baby mama” — a safe home?But given Peterson’s father did hard time for drug money laundering maybe we’re both stuck with the values in which we were born, raised.On Friday, Peterson said he was “focused” on football. On Sunday, he played. But it’s not as if murder doesn’t now regularly afflict the NFL.Maybe Peterson’s son is just one more stands-to-reason murder victim, just another child born to just another “baby mama,” one more kid who never had a shot, anyway. Maybe, by now, even if we can’t accept it, we can expect it."

Never mind the fact that Peterson only learned the kid was his in the last couple of months and was planning to go and meet him in the near future. Whatever. I really don’t know what to say in response to that. I’m sorry Phil Mushnick, I don’t possess your ability to look inside people’s souls and see who they truly are. Only you, God and Vladimir Putin know that trick.

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