I consider this a black or white topic. By black or white, I don’t mean race. By black or white, I mean you’re either with it or not. Simple! There’s no in between or maybe. You either spank your kids or not. It just happens that I’m a firm believer in spanking your kids. Don’t expect to get any apologies from me. Again, I’m a firm believer in spanking my kids. Where do you stand?

Adrian Peterson, running back for the Minnesota Vikings, just so happens to agree with me. He believes in spanking his kids. Now, let me tell you the price that comes with spanking your kids if you are a professional athlete. I’m going to use Adrian Peterson as prime example.

Peterson has lost several endorsements, endorsements which include the likes of Castrol and Nike. As for Nike, Peterson is one of four athletes to be terminated by Nike in the past year.

Peterson has lost his job for the time being. The NFLPA sent a letter to the NFL last Friday calling for the immediate reinstatement of Peterson. Since his legal problems are now resolved, he gets back to possibly playing football. Peterson was placed on the exempt/commissioner’s permission list on Sept. 17, which meant that Peterson cannot participate in games or practices or visit the team’s facility while on the exempt list.

All arrows point to Peterson being reinstated, but there’s no guarantee he’ll play again this season. Peterson hasn’t played since week one. Say he gets reinstated; do the Vikings want him to be a part of their franchise? If not, is there a domino effect? Does the rest of the league say no as well? There are seven weeks remaining in the season, and what team wants this type of distraction this late into the season? It’s hard to believe, because Peterson is the best player at his position and could make an immediate impact right away.

Peterson’s public image has plummeted since. From a distance, he looks like a great guy. Minnesota, prior to the incident, endorsed Peterson as the cornerstone and face of their franchise. Since, he’s been lampooned by the Minnesota governor and ridiculed by the public. Peterson went from role model to villain in the snap of a “switch.” Peterson said he “never imagined being in a position where the world is judging my parenting skills or calling me a child abuser because of the discipline I administered to my son.”

What many people seem to forget is that in October of 2013, Adrian Peterson lost his son due to injuries sustained during an alleged aggravated assault. From that alone, I make the assumption that Peterson loves and treasures his kids like none other. Thirteen months later he’s having another life-changing moment with a different son.

The loss of endorsements, his job temporarily and his public image is the price that comes from spanking your kid. A hefty price, if you ask me.

Photos of the spanking he gave his kid have been leaked, but trust me, I’ve seen and gotten worse spankings than that. As bad as that may sound, those same spankings made me the great young man I am today. Some call it child abuse or reckless/negligent injury to a child. I call it love.

I grew up in a household where my parents were parents, not my friends. My father enforced his rules like a great father should do. I overstep my boundary; in return, here’s a spanking to help me remember that this “mistake” will not be tolerated. And after every spanking, my dad always sat me down and taught me right from wrong. He showed me that this spanking is a teaching lesson.

Honestly, Peterson did no wrong. He’s a professional athlete, though. He’s held to higher standard. In the public’s eyes, he isn’t supposed to spank his kid with a switch nor spank his child to that degree. There are tons of children right now getting spankings, with cords, broomsticks, paddles, etc., from regular citizens like you and me. But when Adrian Peterson spanks his kid with a switch, well, he deserves jail time. He deserves to be stoned. He deserves to be jobless.

For Peterson, this couldn’t have come at a worse time. The NFL is still dealing with guys like Ray Rice, Ray McDonald, Greg Hardy and Aldon Smith. Those four guys alone have bigger issues than Peterson.

This is a topic of discussion every day in America. Hopefully, for Peterson, this doesn’t hinder him in any shape, way, or form. I hope to see him on the field again playing football.