"God wants good to come from this," league MVP Adrian Peterson now says of his decision to play for the Minnesota Vikings Sunday, less than 48-hours after his two-year-old son died after being abused in his South Dakota home earlier in the week.
The Carolina Panthers drubbed the Vikings 35-10, but the bigger story remains the fact that Peterson was even able to take the field.
"It was tough," a distraught Peterson told CBS Sports. "It was a crazy situation... it hurts. You can't describe it. I want people to understand my mindset. Any bad I try to take good from it. That's the way I approach life. I never thought about not playing. It was all about going out there and praying that I have the strength to get through. That was my focus."
Over the years, the 28-year-old Peterson has come to know tragedy all too well. When he was just 7, his teenage brother was struck and killed by a drunken driver and in 2007 another brother was shot and killed in Houston the night before Peterson was to take part part in the NFL combine.
In the more recent incident, Sioux Falls police have charged Joseph Robert Patterson with felony counts of aggravated battery of an infant and aggravated assault. Lincoln County, S.D. State's Attorney Thomas Wollman told CBS those charges are almost certain to be upgraded given the child has now passed away.
In the hours leading up to the game, Peterson tweeted: "The NFL is a fraternity of brothers and I am thankful for the tweets, phone calls and text messages from my fellow players. God bless everyone and thank u so much."
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