On Wednesday, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will appear in court in connection with his pending child-abuse charges.
And if/when the judge asks lawyer Rusty Hardin (pictured) for a plea, there will be no equivocation.
“If the court asks for a plea tomorrow [and we do expect that to happen], it will very definitely be NOT guilty,” Hardin’s spokesperson, Mary Flood, told ESPN.com. “We hope that a trial date is also discussed but don’t yet know how the court’s docket is looking. . . . I hope we learn more tomorrow, but it’s possible that we won’t get a date tomorrow and we’ll just get the beginnings of discussions about a date.”
Hardin likely will push, as diplomatically as possible, for a trial to happen as soon as possible. The sooner the case resolves, the sooner Peterson can play.
Of course, the case would have to resolve itself in a way that exonerates Peterson, or Peterson will likely have an unpaid suspension to follow his paid suspension. Unless, of course, the NFL gives Peterson full or partial credit for the games missed during his paid leave of absence.