ADRIAN PETERSON SAID he is considering ending his NFL career, after an appeal against the severity of his ban was dismissed on Friday.
The Minnesota Vikings running back was banned for the remainder of the 2014 season, after he pleaded ‘no contest’ to child abuse charges earlier in the year.
Independent arbitrator Harold Henderson said there was “no basis” for a reduction to Peterson’s suspension, causing the 29-year-old to contemplate ending his football-playing career.
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“I’ve considered retiring from the NFL,” Peterson told ESPN. ”I still made $8million this year. I’ve thought about getting back into the real estate [business in Texas] I’m already in. That’s something I’ve been interested in, something I’m involved in.
“I’ve thought about getting back into that. I’ve thought about going after the Olympics – you only live once. It might be time for me to pursue that, as well.
“I love playing football, don’t get me wrong, but this situation is deeper than that. For me, it’s like, ‘Why should I continue to be a part of an organisation or a business that handles players the way they do?
“Making money off the field anyway, why not continue to pursue that [Olympic] dream and pursue other dreams and hang up the cleats?’”
Peterson said he is contemplating trying to compete in the 200- and 400-metre events at an Olympic Games.
“I’ve seriously thought about this real hard. I continue to pray about it, but it’s been something that has been heavy, heavy on my heart.
“Of course I’d miss it [playing in the NFL]. It’s my first love.
“But the reason I would be walking away from it would be [one way to] kind of solidify that hurt from these incidents.
“I would know that, ‘Hey, you’re walking away not because you’ve given up. You’re walking away because they’re handling you all the way wrong in this situation. They’re painting you out to be a guy that you’re not.’”
Peterson is reportedly planning to file a lawsuit against the league.
Adrian Peterson is contemplating NFL retirement and an Olympics bid
ADRIAN PETERSON SAID he is considering ending his NFL career, after an appeal against the severity of his ban was dismissed on Friday.
The Minnesota Vikings running back was banned for the remainder of the 2014 season, after he pleaded ‘no contest’ to child abuse charges earlier in the year.
Independent arbitrator Harold Henderson said there was “no basis” for a reduction to Peterson’s suspension, causing the 29-year-old to contemplate ending his football-playing career.
“I’ve considered retiring from the NFL,” Peterson told ESPN. ”I still made $8million this year. I’ve thought about getting back into the real estate [business in Texas] I’m already in. That’s something I’ve been interested in, something I’m involved in.
“I love playing football, don’t get me wrong, but this situation is deeper than that. For me, it’s like, ‘Why should I continue to be a part of an organisation or a business that handles players the way they do?
“Making money off the field anyway, why not continue to pursue that [Olympic] dream and pursue other dreams and hang up the cleats?’”
Peterson said he is contemplating trying to compete in the 200- and 400-metre events at an Olympic Games.
“I’ve seriously thought about this real hard. I continue to pray about it, but it’s been something that has been heavy, heavy on my heart.
“Of course I’d miss it [playing in the NFL]. It’s my first love.
“But the reason I would be walking away from it would be [one way to] kind of solidify that hurt from these incidents.
“I would know that, ‘Hey, you’re walking away not because you’ve given up. You’re walking away because they’re handling you all the way wrong in this situation. They’re painting you out to be a guy that you’re not.’”
Peterson is reportedly planning to file a lawsuit against the league.
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