Adrian Peterson insists he did nothing wrong a day after he was arrested on a felony domestic violence charge.
The 36-year-old NFL running back, who removed from a flight and arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday after a dispute with his wife, shared his side of the story with Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston.
“I was literally mind-blown that they took me to jail,” Peterson said. “They were like ‘I’m sorry, Mr. Peterson, but because she had a scratch on her finger, [in] the state of California, we have to take you in.’ I sit there and watch the plane pull back and take off and I’m just like, ‘Wow! I cannot believe this is happening right now. I’m going to ail, and I literally didn’t do anything.’”
“It’s blown out of proportion,” he continued. “Me and the wife got into an argument on the plane. That was pretty much the gist of it. I ended up grabbing her hand and taking her ring off her finger. She didn’t press any charges. The state of California pressed charges because there was a scratch on her hand. Literally that’s why I went to jail, because the ring left a scratch on her finger.
“We just had a disagreement. I know the headlines: Domestic violence. You’d think I beat her up or something. It was nothing like that.”
Peterson added that the passenger behind them “brought more attention” to their argument and “made it more than it was” which ultimately led to his arrest.
“Only thing I will say is it looks horrible because Adrian Peterson arrested for domestic violence,” he said. “I don’t hit women. It’s not that type of situation and it just looks bad. I’ll deal with it and God willing get the charges dropped and move on.”
Peterson has found himself in a similar situation before. Back in 2014, he was charged with misdemeanor reckless assault and avoided jail time after he disciplined his 4-year-old son with a switch.
Peterson, a future Hall of Famer, spent last season with the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks, appearing in a total of four games. His career has spanned 17 seasons and has included stints with the Minnesota Vikings, Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints.
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