Minnesota Vikings star running back Adrian Peterson will not be appearing at his own football camp because he’s going to film a show for NFL Network instead. Here’s the note that appeared on the camp’s website explaining his absence, as the Tulsa World pointed out:
Adrian Peterson is being featured on the NFL Top 100 program and will not be able to attend this week’s camp. Although we are saddened to hear that he won’t be able to attend his camp, we congratulate Adrian on the honor. Since we learned the news, ProCamps has been working around the clock to maintain a program that still provides a first-class experience to all campers and allows interaction with various Sooner stars. All-time Sooner greats Mark Clayton, DeMarco Murray and Jason White will serve as special guest hosts at camp.
The camp runs Thursday and Friday at the University of Oklahoma and it’s pleasing they will have Sooners stars in attendance as guest hosts. However, it’s extremely difficult to overlook Peterson ditching his own camp to film the show. Not only is Peterson’s name used to market the camp, they also promote his presence as a selling point. Check out this camp information posted on their facebook group:
“Join Minnesota Vikings All-Pro running back and former Sooner All-American Adrian Peterson for football fundamentals and fun at the Adrian Peterson Football Camp. … Adrian Peterson will give daily talks highlighting the finer points of the game of football and beyond. Parents and guests will be able to listen to camp guests in designated areas at each location.”
They also promise an autographed team photo which will become a DeMarco Murray autograph. They’re charging $199 for the camp which is not a fortune, but that still doesn’t change that it’s wrong for Peterson to ditch his own camp. This is the same guy so connected to his hometown he skipped minicamp to attend an Adrian Peterson Day last year. With priorities like that, it’s hard to believe he left his campers behind.
I understand when conflicts arise, but as someone who has bought into an event based on a selling point that didn’t pay off, I can imagine the disappointment of the campers looking forward to meeting him. What’s really sad is this is the second major P.R. gaffe for Peterson this offseason. Oh yeah, photos show Peterson was present for the past three camps.
UPDATE: NFL Network says this has nothing to do with them and that Peterson is filming the show live with them in July.
UPDATE II: Adrian Peterson has apologized for missing the camp. He issued his apology to the Associated Press through his agent saying:
“I want to apologize to all the fans about the confusion regarding the camp in Norman. ‘I hosted camps in Palestine and Tyler, Texas, last week that went great. Due to ProCamps misunderstanding of my schedule, I was never able to host this year’s Norman camp on their scheduled dates, but look forward to being back in 2012.”
