Like a handful of other NFL players, Washington Redskins defensive tackle Trent Williams does not think Adrian Peterson deserves to be criticized and taken off the football field for the way he disciplines his children. While Williams said he would “never want to see anyone hurt a child,” he defended Peterson during an interview with Doug Gottlieb on Thursday.
“I think it’s unfortunate that a man would take such criticism for the way he disciplined his child,” Williams said, as transcribed by Scott Allen of DC Sports Bog. “To me, I just look at the situation a different way, but you never want to see anybody hurt a child. I’ve been around him and his family plenty of times and that’s definitely not the dad that he is. He’s a great father, very interactive with his kids. I know he’s a stern father as well and doesn’t allow his kids to be disobedient. I was shocked by the accusations that it was child abuse.”
Williams doesn’t seem to fully understand what constitutes child abuse. He made the same argument that Reggie Bush and Captain Munnerlyn made about how they were harshly disciplined by their parents as children and turned out just fine.
“I was a fair-skinned guy, so I always went to my room with a [welt] or a scratch here from the switch, but looking back on it, I wouldn’t want to be raised any other way,” Williams said. “Of course, words can teach you right from wrong, but a butt-whooping is a real good deterrent. I feel like it helped me become the man I am today.”
He then went on to explain how discplining in the south is different from the north, which is a justification we have heard from people like Charles Barkley. While that may be true, it doesn’t make it right for Peterson to leave open cuts and welt marks on his 4-year-old son.
In addition, Williams said you should be able to be a little more physical with a son than a daughter.
“I have a 4-year-old and I know how difficult they can be to deal with,” he said. “But mine is a girl, so of course I wouldn’t whoop a girl the same way I’d whoop a boy. …”
We’re not going to get into a moral debate, because everyone has their own opinions on the subject. But like we said before, these NFL players need to realize that defending someone who was arrested for child abuse is almost always going to look bad. People like Williams and Bush are better off keeping their thoughts private.
