Article: Peterson Saga Brings Back Memories

[Seth Stohs]

Since news broke last Friday, the Adrian Peterson situation has been at the forefront of national and local sports talk. Each day, there are new details that come out and take the discussion in different directions. A local sports “hero” has suddenly been cast into a new and different light (or darkness). Maybe this is a little déjà vu for some of us Twins fans.I was eight years old when Kirby Puckett was called up to the Twins. He pretty quickly became my new favorite baseball player. In all honesty, I’m thinking it was his name, at least at first. He was the speedy new centerfielder who was sure fun to watch.

 

And within a couple seasons, he became one of baseball's best players. When the Twins won their first World Series in 1987, I was 12 years old. I had spent the summer playing baseball, wearing number 34. In 1991, I was a junior in high school and the Twins won the World Series again. There was The Catch against the plexi-glass. There was his “We’ll see you tomorrow night” moment.

 

Puckett was full of charisma and clearly enjoyed playing the game of baseball. He was a hit machine. He was a perennial All-Star and one of the great ambassadors of the game. He was someone who was involved in charities, especially those that helped children.

 

Then came spring of 1995, and his career was suddenly over due to glaucoma. I was 19 years old, in college, and the news was devastating.

 

Kirby Puckett was my hero. He was the guy who I enjoyed watching through my formative years. I’m guessing the same can be said for many of my generation.

 

In 2001, my dad and brother and I went to Cooperstown with some friends to watch Puckett (and Dave Winfield) get inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame. That is certainly the pinnacle for any ball player’s career.

 

It wasn’t long after his induction that things went tumbling downhill for Puckett. I’m not going to get into the details here. If you want, you can Google it. I was grown up then, but the news was still painful to read. Where did this come from? How could I have been so wrong?

 

The situation now if very similar for Adrian Peterson and these fans. There are many kids in Minnesota and around the country who idolize Adrian Peterson. He is one of the best running backs to play the game. He did things that we haven’t seen before on a football field. Although his reputation had taken a few hits, he was generally considered a very good person who did a lot in the community.

 

As horrible as this Adrian Peterson situation has been (and will continue to be), and as horrible as the Kirby Puckett news was, can we learn anything from them?

 

Maybe the conversations about the Peterson situation can do some good. Maybe the conversations on talk radio and in the Vikings Journal forums can be productive. It can help define what is wrong and what limits should be. If even a handful of parents alter their thinking on using a switch or other extreme “discipline,” it will help those kids. If it can keep some people around the country from abusing a child, a girlfriend, a wife, the conversation is worthwhile.

 

I agree with the old Charles Barkley commercial in which he famously said, “I am not a role model. I am not paid to be a role model. I am paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court.”

 

In theory, that is correct. Teachers, doctors and parents should be the heroes of kids.

 

In reality, kids who enjoy sports are going to look up to their favorite athletes. They will emulate the stars. They will try to replicate batting stances or touchdown celebrations or 360-windmill slam dunks (Well, maybe when they get older).

 

I am now a parent of an eight-year-old. She’s not quite the sports fanatic I was at that age, but she knows a few Twins names and will occasionally watch part of a ballgame with me. What should we tell our kids? At one point, I thought it might be best to tell children not to have athletes as heroes and role models. I don’t really agree with that. I think it’s important to remember that a large majority of athletes are really good people who really do a lot of great work in the community. I've had the opportunity to meet several of the Twins players and minor leaguers and there are so many genuinely good people.

 

I also think that does put some responsibility on the athletes to realize that kids are watching them. I would like to see a few top athletes take a stand and speak out against domestic violence, against other things and about being good people and role models.

 

It’s also important as a parent to talk to your children and help them understand that what we see on the field and on TV is just a part of who these people are. The Twins players are more than just athletes. They have families. Some have wives or girlfriends, and some have kids. Like each and every one of us, they will make mistakes. We aren't perfect.

 

When I am asked who my favorite baseball player of all time is, I still say that it is Kirby Puckett. And I say it easily and with no hesitation. If someone were to ask me who the best running back that I’ve ever seen in the NFL, I will tell them Adrian Peterson (though Bo Jackson might be the answer on the right days).

 

And that’s OK.

 

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[cgreuling]

I think the fact that the media takes an interest in pro athletes personal lives has changed things. Personally I don't see anything wrong with idolizing an athlete for what they do in their profession but the role model for living life should really come from parents/grandparents and friends/other family members, and I think the world is lacking in that department.

 

I lost my train of thought while typing that on my phone so I hope it makes sense :-0

[FlsPrpht]

Wait wait wait....why should Doctors be considered role models/heroes? Aren't many of them profiteers who benefit from other's maladies?  

Why can't we just say that anyone has it in them to be a hero/role model and all should be judged by the good works they do, not on the vocation they chose.

[cgreuling]

What FlsPrpht said! Role models shouldn't be just because they're good at their jobs.

[Mike Sixel]

On another board I was on, there was a great debate about authors......can you enjoy an author's work if he/she is a bad human being? Just like athletes, can you root for them if they are bad (in your opinion) people?

 

It is a tough call. I personally can't root for a bad person on a team I like. I am quite happy that my kids aren't really sports' fans much. They won't be burned by stuff like this so much as some of us have been. Kirby and AP were/are two of my favorite athletes to watch/enjoy. This has been a bummer of a week for me, but it has reminded me of why I root for teams now, and not really people.

[tobi0040]

I think this was a really great article that hit on many truths.

 

They shoud not be role models because they are good at sports, but you can't stop a little kid from adoring a star play on the biggest stages and excel.  Be cheered on, adored by fans, in commercals, on clothes, interviewed after the game about how great it felt to hit the big HR or the game winning shot.

 

Just a personal note here.  I had the same heroes growing up.  Michael Jordan, Kirby, KG, and Mike Modano.  But there was my mom. A single Mom who worked two jobs so my brother and I could eat. As parents we need to try and explain to our kids what and who is/are important.  Eventually we grow and mature and so does our view of who we should look up to.

[Steven Buhr]

We can debate what should or shouldn't be the case regarding "heroes," but the fact is that kids will idolize those who are among the best in whatever fields most interest those kids. Maybe it's a sports hero, maybe it's a famous actor or dancer, maybe it's a famous author. That's just how it will be. As parents, you can try to make the point that being great at their jobs doesn't make them great people, but that's about all you can do.

 

Seth, the Puckett and Peterson situations differ in one critical way: Puckett's playing career was over when his personal shortcomings were exposed publicly. I wonder what you would have felt if that darker side to his personality had come to light in 1989 or 90. Would the Twins and/or their fans have shunned him? Would you? How would the media's treatment of him changed (if at all)?

 

I dunno. I just feel like the media has become judge and jury and behaves as if they are the morality police, speaking on behalf of all sports fans. I blame the PED scandals for that, to a degree. Media was complicit in keeping PED use under wraps and now everyone seems to think they have the responsibility to cleanse all of sport of anyone who leads a less than perfect life away from the field.

 

For me, sports figures are entertainers. I can enjoy watching Lethal Weapon movies despite my personal feelings about Mel Gibson. I enjoy Naked Gun movies, even if OJ Simpson played a key role in the films. I enjoy watching and listening to Frank Sinatra, who was far from a choirboy. I won't even go in to the lives of rock stars who I've paid good money to hear and see. Why should it be any more difficult for me to appreciate the talents of a ballplayer who is less than perfect away from the ballpark/stadium/arena?

 

Peterson, Rice, et al, should be held accountable for any crimes they commit. And you're right - if the dialogue and repercussions coming out of this ends up preventing women and children from becoming victims, there is value in this sordid exercise.

 

I just wonder where it stops.

 

Sports media over recent years has decided it's their job to protect the HoF from PED users.

 

Last week, the media was protecting women from Ray Rice.

 

This week they are protecting children from Adrian Peterson.

 

Who will media decide they need to protect us from next week... and from what?

 

Knowing full well all this policing of morality is about ratings and readership does not make me feel warm and fuzzy about the whole process. Maybe the best I can hope for is that, some day, the spotlight will be turned on some of these media "stars" and we'll see how well their own glass houses are constructed.

[cgreuling]

As parents we need to try and explain to our kids what and who is/are important.  Eventually we grow and mature and so does our view of who we should look up to.

 

This all day, every day. 

[Seth Stohs]

Why can't we just say that anyone has it in them to be a hero/role model and all should be judged by the good works they do, not on the vocation they chose.

 

Fair point... I can't disagree with that. 

[Mike Sixel]

BS this is media created, if that is your point. Media coverage has nothing to do with my (or others') feelings about what Rice and Peterson did (or allegedly did). Nothing at all.

 

And, frankly, in a free society, that is kind of the media's role, communicating difficult issues to people so they can make informed decisions. I suppose we could become Russia, and have the media only tell us stuff the government and big business want us to hear/read/see. I'm not in favor of that, frankly.

 

The media did not hit Rice's wife or Peterson's kid. This isn't about the media at all.

[tobi0040]

BS this is media created, if that is your point. Media coverage has nothing to do with my (or others') feelings about what Rice and Peterson did (or allegedly did). Nothing at all.

 

And, frankly, in a free society, that is kind of the media's role, communicating difficult issues to people so they can make informed decisions. I suppose we could become Russia, and have the media only tell us stuff the government and big business want us to hear/read/see. I'm not in favor of that, frankly.

 

The media did not hit Rice's wife or Peterson's kid. This isn't about the media at all.

 

I don't think he was saying this is media created.  But rather a pendelum effect to a degree.  PED's were ignored so now the media covers everything real time. 

 

I also think technology has allowed the media to cover these events in more detail.   Anyone with a phone can now be a reporter. More things leak out beause of that and social media.  So in the past you had accusations of something, now you have a video, pictures, commens from friends or family, etc. 

[Dantes929]

Any time you put anyone too high on a pedestal you are setting yourself up for disappointment. No one is perfect and people generally have many layers and facets that make up who they are. Its actually easier for me as a parent in these extreme cases. OJ, AP and Kirby could all be admired and used as an example for their focus, dedication, hard work and being good teammates. Because of the extreme backlash to their bad behavior I am not too concerned about my son emulating them by committing murder, abusing women or hitting young kids. The only real result is disappointment. Its actually the role models (whoever they are in whatever profession) that are less seriously flawed that cause concern for me. Gambling, drunk driving, drug use, trash talk, greed, disrespect of women (as opposed to abuse) etc are more insidious in that there is not as much backlash and are more likely to be considered cool and emulated.

[Mike Sixel]

Role models falling can lead to cynicism.....IMO. That's the big issue with them falling, but, I think we do see kids emulate the behavior of role models. Even the mistreatment of other people. Probably not all the way to murder, but we see trash talking, and I have seen / heard kids talk about women badly based on what they have heard athletes say. When the kids were younger, not as they became teens (but then, my kids migrated away from some of those kids, so who knows).

[Steven Buhr]

mike, the events were not media created. Rice, Peterson, et al, created the events with their inexcusable actions.

 

The fallout afterward, yeah, more than a little bit media created.

 

You don't need to lecture me on the role of media. I became a journalism major largely because of the work of Woodward & Bernstein.

 

But I don't see the media's role being as the deciders of who should or should not be worthy to have their livelihoods as entertainers destroyed. I've known far too many reporters... especially sports reporters... who have no business casting  themselves as morality police on the public's behalf. The unfiltered thrill it gives these people to fill that role just rubs me the wrong way and I'll save my own feelings of satisfied smugness for when I see some of those so-called reporters' lives obliterated.

[brvama]

Good read Seth.  As a retiree it is still hard to see the warts of those I admire. 

 

Despite the effort of trying to understand it is the performance that I admire, not the person.  Too often our society emulates the "rich and famous" as idols, to be followed at any beck and call. 

 

They are no different than the rest of us, except they have been blessed with an extreme talent.  Below that talent though exists a common person with the same humanity as the rest of us.  However, being in the limelight, these people are generally used as props for companies coffers.  Thus, they are presented to us as models of perfection.  Make-up, virtual or real, can do wonders to hide reality. 

 

I have tried to instill in my kids that admiring someone because of what they do is fine.  Just remember, it is the skill or talent with which you are enamored. 

 

Still it hurts when they fall. 

 

Just a note of caution - convicting our heroes as human is right, convicting them of crimes before the full story is known is wrong.

[tobi0040]

Just a note of caution - convicting our heroes as human is right, convicting them of crimes before the full story is known is wrong.

 

While true in most cases, we saw the Rice video and AP pictures coupled with him admitting to using the switch.

 

Regardless of what a court decides, that is enough for me.

Edited September 18, 2014 by tobi0040

[Mike Sixel]

mike, the events were not media created. Rice, Peterson, et al, created the events with their inexcusable actions.

 

The fallout afterward, yeah, more than a little bit media created.

 

You don't need to lecture me on the role of media. I became a journalism major largely because of the work of Woodward & Bernstein.

 

But I don't see the media's role being as the deciders of who should or should not be worthy to have their livelihoods as entertainers destroyed. I've known far too many reporters... especially sports reporters... who have no business casting  themselves as morality police on the public's behalf. The unfiltered thrill it gives these people to fill that role just rubs me the wrong way and I'll save my own feelings of satisfied smugness for when I see some of those so-called reporters' lives obliterated.

 

Agreed on all counts. I mis-read the intent of your post, clearly.

[ChermesZ]

New poster here.  I agree with SD Buhr on all counts.  It's a sad state of affair that the media can take it upon themselves to destroy someone.  After all, these people are just human and not perfect.

 

My only question I have is this:  Where were all these people when Miguel Cabrera pulled his act?  Did they condone it or ignore it because he had to play game 163? Either way they should reflect upon themselves before jumping on a bandwagon that has already passed numerous times.....

[Mike Sixel]

The media is NOT destroying someone. They did something bad. The media may be making it worse, they may be pushing an agenda, but the people brought this on themselves.

 

And, the old, "people didn't act on something else, so they can't act on this" argument is a logical fallacy. And, no, someone does not need to be perfect to point out that someone else is bad. That is also a logical fallacy. If someone cheats on their wife, are they exempt from point out that slavery and murder is wrong? Of course not.

[Mike Sixel]

do people really think the media wants to destroy athletes in general? Those guys are their meal tickets on ESPN and most tv and newspapers........this isn't some grand media conspiracy. This is a guy that beat his kid, and many people find that repugnant. Should all those people just shut up, and let it keep happening, if they find it evil/wrong/bad?

[IndyTwinsFan]

What FlsPrpht said! Role models shouldn't be just because they're good at their jobs.

Agreed.  However, the problem is that the status of "role model" is usually thrust upon players in any sport by their peers, fans, media, etc.  I would surmise that few, if any, ever had that specific aspiration leading up to or during their career.

[rhobbs]

"Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy". - F. Scott Fitzgerald 

[Craig Arko]

do people really think the media wants to destroy athletes in general? Those guys are their meal tickets on ESPN and most tv and newspapers........this isn't some grand media conspiracy. This is a guy that beat his kid, and many people find that repugnant. Should all those people just shut up, and let it keep happening, if they find it evil/wrong/bad?

 

I think the large American media conglomerates would burn their own mothers at the stake if it generated more advertising revenue.

[Steven Buhr]

do people really think the media wants to destroy athletes in general? Those guys are their meal tickets on ESPN and most tv and newspapers........this isn't some grand media conspiracy. This is a guy that beat his kid, and many people find that repugnant. Should all those people just shut up, and let it keep happening, if they find it evil/wrong/bad?

 

Unfortunately (and this may just be a point you & I will not agree on and that's fine), I do think certain members of the media AND their employers do look to destroy athletes. Not "in general," in a way to say they want to destroy all athletes, but there's readership/viewership to be gained by actively attempting to destroy specific athletes. The "meal ticket" is perpetual because there will always be other athletes to replace those they bring down. Sports journalism has become TMZ-ized.

 

The players, by their actions, did bring this on themselves. I'm not feeling sorry for them. I'm sickened by some of their actions. I'm just also sickened by the rabid wolfpack mentality of much of the national and local media.

 

I know. I can simply refuse to watch it. I get to make that choice and, largely, I have done that.

[brvama]

While true in most cases, we saw the Rice video and AP pictures coupled with him admitting to using the switch.

 

Regardless of what a court decides, that is enough for me.

 

You are correct.  My caution was a general statement, not for these specific incidents.  Sorry about the confusion.

[Steven Buhr]

"Show me a hero and I will write you a tragedy". - F. Scott Fitzgerald 

 

Careful. Fitzgerald was an alcoholic who, by some accounts, didn't have exactly a clean "domestic" history. Best be cautious about holding him or anything he said or wrote as being worthy of praise.

[Brandon]

Its to the point where I am going turn off football for a while.  the media circus is too much for me to tolerate.  watching the Vikings without Peterson is too.  I think this is a case where Peterson thought he was doing right and needs to be corrected and given a chance to see if that takes hold.  Wasn't those hits a result of the child endangering another child on a bike?  Yes what he did was abusive but Adrian didn't think it was wrong as he thought it fit the punishment based on how he was disciplined growing up.  I think there is room here for lieniency If he was a drunk abuser then I get it. punish the guy but he has cooperated and he has been a role model outside of that.  so give him a chance to grow as a person. 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

There are media people like Dan Cole who are taking a stand against child abuse (he is presumably pro- puppy dog and strongly in favor of the sunrise) only as it relates to the professional athletes he is paid to take down. There is no sense that he is ever interested in addressing issues like this, but has only been waiting for the right opportunity. It just gives him and other media people something easy to talk about, period. On the other hand there are guys like Cris Carter I guess who seem to want to advance the debate -- what is appropriate discipline. Who decides. What part do we wish our public officials to have in deciding. Good to discuss. To my mind Adrian is in the wrong even if he genuinely didn't believe he was doing anything wrong. It's not as black and white as he thinks. He gets paid to take and give bodily punishment, and our society condones this… yet here we are talking about a little child. I think he should have some sort of significant suspension but no idea how long. Football cannot be a priority for him right now. This is not to defend him though or defend NFL policy.

[Mike Sixel]

Careful. Fitzgerald was an alcoholic who, by some accounts, didn't have exactly a clean "domestic" history. Best be cautious about holding him or anything he said or wrote as being worthy of praise.

 

Not sure if this is sarcasm or not, but it gets to my logical fallacy statements earlier, if it is serious.......

[Mike Sixel]

Really? You think Dan Cole only cares about child abuse in re: athletes? 

 

edit: I just defended one of my least favorite radio personalities

Edited September 18, 2014 by mike wants wins