Free-agent running back Adrian Peterson said news this weekend of his arrest and subsequent domestic violence charge has been “blown out of proportion.”
Peterson was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence on Saturday, Sports Illustrated confirmed with the LAX airport police division PIO. According to the PIO, a plane flying to Houston “had to return to the gate due to a verbal and physical altercation between a male suspect and a female victim.”
“Airport Police conducted their investigation and made required notifications to FBI authorities. The male suspect was taken into custody by Airport Police and is currently being booked at LAPD Pacific Division,“ the PIO said in a statement to SI. “The passengers, along with the female victim, were able to continue with their flight plans.”
Speaking to Fox26's Mark Berman, Peterson said that he was “literally mind-blown that they took me to jail.” He described the incident to Berman in the following manner:
“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 jail, and I literally didn’t do anything.’
“It’s blown out of proportion. 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 went on to say that a passenger sitting behind them played a role in the incident.
“She kind of made it more than it was and brought more attention to it,” he said.
A source close to Peterson and his wife, Ashley, told ESPN that Ashley was not going to press charges.
"This is a private misunderstanding between husband and wife and we anticipate it will all be resolved shortly," a representative for the Petersons told ESPN in a statement.
Bail for Peterson, 36, was set at $50,000. He was released Sunday afternoon on bond and has a court date set for June 16.
Peterson previously was arrested and indicted in 2014 on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child after authorities said he hit his 4-year-old son with a switch. He pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of misdemeanor reckless assault. That November, he was also suspended without pay for the rest of the 2014 NFL season.
Peterson, who is fifth in NFL history with 14,918 rushing yards, finished this past season with the Seahawks. He appeared in one game with Seattle after playing three games earlier in the season with the Titans.
