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Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson had a lot on his mind during a recent conversation with SIRIUS NFL Radio, and he made some waves with his comments regarding gay marriage, which will become legal in Minnesota on Aug. 1. Peterson said that he doesn't believe in non-traditional unions.
"To each his own, [but] I'm not with it," Peterson said. "I have relatives who are gay. I'm not biased towards them. I still treat them the same. I love 'em. But again, I'm not with that. That's not something I believe in. But to each his own."
Peterson was asked about the recent release of former Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, who signed with the Oakland Raiders on May 16. Kluwe has long been an advocate for gay rights, and some seemed to believe that this fact had something to do with his change of scenery.
"I don't know if I'll ever know," Kluwe recently told Yahoo! Sports' Les Carpenter about the move, and the reasons behind it. "I'm not in the [organizational] meetings."
Peterson said that he didn't believe Kluwe's cut was based on his opinions.
"I'm sure the Vikings organization didn't release him based on that," he said. "They know Kluwe. They've been knowing him for a long time. They know he's outspoken."
That may be, but Peterson's comments about gay marriage will certainly make some waves. And this isn't the first time the star running back has said things that put him in the public eye. In March of 2011, I happened to be interviewing Peterson by phone, and found him to be a thoughtful and interesting subject ... but when he compared the circumstances of current NFL players to "modern-day slavery" that didn't go over so well. Nor should it have. Peterson had a lot of revealing things to say about the NFL lockout that was going on at the time, but the pull quote was the only thing that mattered to a lot of people.
As it will this time. Of course, Peterson has every right to his own opinion, but he'd better be ready for the backlash.
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