Peterson plea deal...

[Pondering Her Percy]

I don't know that I'd call it flip-flopping, at least not for me.

There has been a lot of talk about contrition in this thread. I think most of us want to see a man who is truly sorry for what he did and intends to change his ways. If that has happened, then my relationship with him (which is to say, whether I remain a fan) can be restored. Whether he has actually taken that stance ... well, that's up to each individual to decide. You apparently want to see more. I can respect that.

That being said, I haven't flip-flopped. My thoughts on his actions -- which were that he went completely overboard with the disciplining of his child -- haven't changed. But if we get tossed out of every relationship for good when we mess up, we're all going to end up pretty lonely.

Great post!

[PurpleKoolaid]

I don't know that I'd call it flip-flopping, at least not for me.

There has been a lot of talk about contrition in this thread. I think most of us want to see a man who is truly sorry for what he did and intends to change his ways. If that has happened, then my relationship with him (which is to say, whether I remain a fan) can be restored. Whether he has actually taken that stance ... well, that's up to each individual to decide. You apparently want to see more. I can respect that.

That being said, I haven't flip-flopped. My thoughts on his actions -- which were that he went completely overboard with the disciplining of his child -- haven't changed. But if we get tossed out of every relationship for good when we mess up, we're all going to end up pretty lonely.

We aernt talking about messing up in a relationship. We are talking about whipping a kid. And I haven't seen, what I consider to be, true remorse. For scarring a kid for life. And I haven't heard any adequate apology made yet, about how wrong he was, and what a horrible thing he did. With no excuses. But im wasting my breathe on this one. It sure would be nice if the rest of us could plea something equally repulsive down. But we can, because we aren't millionaires. Hopefully the NFL makes the punishment equal the crime.

[Purple bruise]

Plea agreements happen all the time to every class of criminal regardless if they are poor or not. Of course wealthier defendents, that have the resources to hire "good" attorneys, can and do get their clients more favorable outcomes no doubt.
In this instance, with no prior criminal record, the outcome would have been similar in almost any instance. First time offense, with no intent (that could be proven), to cause bodily injury.
The courts plea bargin at least 80-90% of most cases whether they are felony or misdemeanor.
I know from whereof I speak, having been a detective for over 20 years in a large metropolitan area and spent a great deal of time in court witnessing this every day.
The system is in no way perfect but if it did not except plea bargains then the jails, which are already over-flowing with hardened criminals, could never accomadate the huge influx of new inmates.
So I guess you can accept the out come or not but that is the reality of it.

[Mothman]

We aernt talking about messing up in a relationship. We are talking about whipping a kid. And I haven't seen, what I consider to be, true remorse. For scarring a kid for life. And I haven't heard any adequate apology made yet, about how wrong he was, and what a horrible thing he did

Perhaps you're just more interested in remaining outraged about it than in hearing what he's actually had to say on the matter because he's expressed regret, he's apologized more than once and you're just meeting that with "I haven't heard any adequate apology". What's adequate? Is there anything he could say or do that would actually satisfy your sense of outrage?

But im wasting my breathe on this one. It sure would be nice if the rest of us could plea something equally repulsive down. But we can, because we aren't millionaires. Hopefully the NFL makes the punishment equal the crime.

That's not the NFL's job and the melodrama and whining about millionaires getting special treatment in the courts is really getting tiresome. Charges like those Peterson faced are reduced under plea-bargaining agreements all the time, not just for the wealthy. It seems like you simply want your "pound of flesh".

[Mothman]

Plea agreements happen all the time to every class of criminal regardless if they are poor or not. Of course wealthier defendents, that have the resources to hire "good" attorneys, can and do get their clients more favorable outcomes no doubt.
In this instance, with no prior criminal record, the outcome would have been similar in almost any instance. First time offense, with no intent (that could be proven), to cause bodily injury.
The courts plea bargin at least 80-90% of most cases whether they are felony or misdemeanor.
I know from whereof I speak, having been a detective for over 20 years in a large metropolitan area and spent a great deal of time in court witnessing this every day.
The system is in no way perfect but if it did not except plea bargains then the jails, which are already over-flowing with hardened criminals, could never accomadate the huge influx of new inmates.
So I guess you can accept the out come or not but that is the reality of it.

Well said!

[PurpleKoolaid]

Perhaps you're just more interested in remaining outraged about it than in hearing what he's actually had to say on the matter because he's expressed regret, he's apologized more than once and you're just meeting that with "I haven't heard any adequate apology". What's adequate? Is there anything he could say or do that would actually satisfy your sense of outrage?
That's not the NFL's job and the melodrama and whining about millionaires getting special treatment in the courts is really getting tiresome. Charges like those Peterson faced are reduced under plea-bargaining agreements all the time, not just for the wealthy. It seems like you simply want your "pound of flesh".

Why would someone just be interested in remaining outraged? I've already listed what I think he could say and do for me to believe that he knows you cant whip a kid. It should be common sense to a grown man. And I personally think he is more upset of getting caught, of this airing out all over the country.

I personally know of a few cases of child abuse and child molestation. It takes a certain class of man to do either.

You really don't think the rich get away with things that the common man doesn't? Or just tired of me bringing up the facts? What I would like to see is a huge amount of money paid to a child's charity case. I don't think the NFL will do it though. Maybe a $10,000 fine (which would be like you or I getting a $10 dollar fine).

[Mothman]

Why would someone just be interested in remaining outraged? I've already listed what I think he could say and do for me to believe that he knows you cant whip a kid. It should be common sense to a grown man. And I personally think he is more upset of getting caught, of this airing out all over the country.

Then he can't win. That's kind of what I meant about wanting to remain outraged. You've clearly convinced yourself that he is a certain type of person, that he's reacting to this situation a certain way, and it's hard to see how anything he does could actually change your point of view. He's apologized and yet you want more apologies. He's expressed regret but you don't believe it. As I said, he can't win against an attitude like that.

You really don't think the rich get away with things that the common man doesn't? Or just tired of me bringing up the facts?

At what point was it established as a "fact" that Peterson was able to reach a plea agreement because he's wealthy? I just see you and others harping on it because it's another complaining point. Sure, sometimes the wealthy get away with things "the common man" doesn't but is there any evidence, any compelling reason to believe that's what happened in this case? If so, you haven't provided it. As Purple Bruise said above, cases like this end in plea agreements all the time and not just for the wealthy. The mere fact that Peterson is rich doesn't mean that's why he was able to reach a plea agreement.

What I would like to see is a huge amount of money paid to a child's charity case. I don't think the NFL will do it though. Maybe a $10,000 fine (which would be like you or I getting a $10 dollar fine).

All in good time... and there's no way this ends with Peterson getting nothing more than a $10,000 fine.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Then he can't win. That's kind of what I meant about wanting to remain outraged. You've clearly convinced yourself that he is a certain type of person, that he's reacting to this situation a certain way, and it's hard to see how anything he does could change actually change your point of view. He's apologized and yet you want more apologies. He's expressed regret but you don't believe it. As I said, he can't win against an attitude like that.

^exactly what I was about to say. He's apologized and he's said that he regrets his decision multiple times. If he's some kind of "child-beater" I highly doubt the mother of the child would want him around the kid still. He's done what he could do, spoke publicly, apologized, expressed much regret, etc. It's time to move on. What more do you really want from him?? To get down on his knees and beg for the publics forgiveness??

[cstelter]

You really don't think the rich get away with things that the common man doesn't? Or just tired of me bringing up the facts? What I would like to see is a huge amount of money paid to a child's charity case. I don't think the NFL will do it though. Maybe a $10,000 fine (which would be like you or I getting a $10 dollar fine).

You are fully entitled to your opinion, but honestly as a reader of this thread I would say you are not really bolstering your position the more you post.

Do you really think Adrian makes 1000x more than you or I? I would hazard a guess that the average household income of those on this board is above say $50,000 annually to take a rather conservative number. You would seem to be indicating that AP earns north of $50,000,000 a year. I found one website estimating his net worth at around $126M and an annual salary of maybe $20M including endorsements (I think), but it would seem the average middle class US net household net worth is around 300K (http://money.cnn.com/2014/06/11/news/ec ... ss-wealth/). So even from that perspective AP would have to have a net worth of $300M or more to make your position valid and in fact is less than half that.

Yes, AP makes a *lot* of money, but there is no reason to distort facts when trying to make a point. A $10,000 fine to him is much more like a $50 - $100 fine for a typical middle class household. The fine for his plea was $4000, so scaling that up about 300x (a more realistic ratio between he and the 'common man') would get a penalty of $1.2M.

I could appreciate you wanting to see him get penalized to the tune of $1.2M before feeling a sort of justice. That's not a totally unreasonable position in my opinion. I don't share it, but it would be perfectly understandable for someone to take that position. But you're not saying that-- you keep speaking in language that seems to try to incite discontent rather than communicate.

All I'm saying is that I don't think anyone is dismissing your opinion. But I'm suggesting you might want to rethink the way you are trying to share it. Your point is perfectly valid (if I've understood it correctly-- not really sure if I have though) yet you *still* distort it beyond reason as though exaggeration is going to improve your case. I'm not sure about all readers, but this for me such distortions and exaggerations hast he opposite effect.

Using your '$10 for you or I' figure perhaps you think the $4000 fine should have been $4M to be fair-- not the $1.2M I suggest. Or maybe you think the full fine of the original charge (not the plea) of $10,000 should be amped up to $10M to be fair. I'm really not sure. And the reason I'm not sure isn't really my fault I don't think-- I've done my best to understand what you've written. But for reasons noted above, if your position is that AP deserves a $10M hit to go to charity in order for justice to be served, I'd have to conclude you were being unreasonable. Bring it down closer to $1M and I can see the reason behind it. Continue on in your current course of posting and I suspect we'll never know and we'll all reach our own conclusions about your reasonableness as best we can.

[mosscarter]

lets just make this simple---he's way overpaid just like every other athlete. why split hairs over it?

[Boon]

You just can't please certain people. He could donate his entire yearly paycheck to charity and people would still complain.

[PurpleMustReign]

You just can't please certain people. He could donate his entire yearly paycheck to charity and people would still complain.

Yep, and troll the message boards.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[PurpleKoolaid]

You just can't please certain people. He could donate his entire yearly paycheck to charity and people would still complain.

No, that would be a decent penalty to the fans and to the NFL.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Yep, and troll the message boards.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Im getting pretty tired of your baiting comments, if you don't like the posts I make don't reply to them. And Ill do the same for you.

[The Breeze]

I don't get why someone who has money is expected to pay a larger fine for a crime/infraction that has a predetermined amount. That's not fair at all.
If the crime was of a financial matter and lawsuits were involved then there is probably some dynamic number up to the judge, but a misdemeanor is a misdemeanor and is standard for everyone. Should an athlete pay 10x times what anyone else does for running a stop sign? just because they have money? and i'm not comparing what he did to running a stop sign, rather the level of conviction he got from the legal system.

Also, no one, except the people involved, would have heard about this case had not AD been such a public figure....if anything his status and money are bringing considerably more impact to his life and revenue. All his sponsors have dropped him. His credibility and image in the realm of his public persona has been tainted...forever for some people. Every single day people are in court for this issue somewhere....and there are many outcomes based on evidence and what kinds of cases they are. Rich people, poor people what have you....they are all people. Isn't that the truth?

I'm not seeing how extracting more and more money from him makes this any more just......or scripting how he should feel and respond to the situation in order for him to be clear in his own conscience.

talk about arm chair quarter backing