Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is still facing his day in court on child abuse charges, and he’s probably played his last down in Minnesota.
But his representatives said they were surprised to read claims of charity mismanagement in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, since the paper never contacted them.
“I wish they’d have given us a call and given us a chance to clear up some of these misconceptions,” said Bruce Richman, who runs the All Day Foundation now.
Richman said he’s since talked to reporters from the Star Tribune, but detailed some of the errors in their story. Much of it stemmed from the poor management of the foundation prior to 2011 (when Peterson cleaned house and hired a new team to manage it).
“There’s no real story since 2011,” Richman said. “Because we’ve cleaned everything up.”
For instance, the paper reported that a group called Straight From the Heart Ministries in Laurel, Md. denied receiving money from Peterson. Richman said that was because the foundation gave to a group in California with the same name. That was similar to a paperwork confusion regarding donations to food banks in Texas.
Richman detailed a list of contributions Peterson made in 2012 through 2013 totaling over $1.4 million, most of which came from his own pocket rather than sponsors or events. That include a pair of $450,000 donations to churches.
There were no denials about the six children out of wedlock, or the orgy (though it was noted that the funds for the hotel which housed the sex party came from Peterson’s personal account rather than foundation money). But last time we checked, neither sex nor its cause-and-effect relationship to the appearance of children was illegal or uncommon.
Again, the damage control will likely continue when Peterson finds a new team. He’s currently on the commissioner’s exempt list, and the Vikings are paying him. But if they decide not to, he’d likely find work again depending on the outcome of his court case.
That’s a whole other story, one which will begin to unfold when he has his day in court.