Adrian Peterson’s mom is coming to his defense, saying what he did isn’t about abuse, it’s about love. INSIDE EDITION has the latest.
Adrian Peterson's mother is speaking out in his defense over the child abuse charges shocking the nation.
Peterson’s mother, Bonita Jackson, told the Houston Chronicle, "Most of us disciplined our kids a little more than we meant sometimes. But, we were only trying to prepare them for the real world. When you whip those you love, it's not about abuse, but love."
Jackson says Peterson used a tree branch on his two young sons, her grandsons, because she used the same discipline with him as a child.
"He is trying hard to be a good parent. People are judging him for this one incident, but they don't know his heart. It was never his intent to hurt his son," she said.
The question now: Can it be business as usual with all the scandals swirling around the NFL?
INSIDE EDITION’s Megan Alexander journeyed in Atlanta to cover the story futher.
“I'm here at the Georgia dome as the Atlanta Falcons host the Tampa Bay Bucs on CBS Thursday Night Football. The NFL is hoping America can get back to focusing on the game, even as the breaking news events of the past week-and-a-half continue to dominate the national conversation," she reported.
Now add another name to the list of NFL players in hot water.
Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer left a Phoenix jail after being charged with the aggravated assault of his wife, Kayla, and 18-month old son.
Dwyer allegedly threw a shoe at the child. He denies the allegations.
A former NFL wife, Dewan Smith-Williams, has come forward to say she was also a victim of domestic violence.
INSIDE EDITION's Les Trent spoke to Dewan Smith-Williams, estranged wife of former NFL lineman Wally Williams.
Smith-Williams said, "I've been choked, I've been shoved, I've been pulled, I've been pulled through a glass window, a glass door."
Les asked, “What did your NFL liaison tell you?”
“I was told to remain safe and not to call police, that they would handle it,” she answered.
Wally Williams retired from the NFL in 2002, He was never charged. He told Trent he never laid hands on his wife.
“Did you throw Dewan through a plate glass window?” asked Trent.
Williams replied, “Absolutely not.”
“Did you choke her?” questioned Trent.
Williams answered, “No.”
Last week he was suspended from his job as a football analyst for a Baltimore radio station, after his wife went public.
"We have had some heated arguments. We have said some cruel things to each other. But, at no point did I ever attack her," said Williams.
Smith-Williams said, "There were many times I feared for my saftey as well as my life because the person that he became when he was angry was someone I didn't know. That was who belonged on the football field."
