Update!

Minnesota Vikings' Adrian Peterson Indicted on Charge of Reckless or Negligent Injury of a Child in Texas

Montgomery County D.A.'s Office tells ESPN the star running back has not been arrested and has been cooperative with the investigation

By Natalie Finn Sep 12, 2014 11:10 PMTags
Adrian Peterson Joe Robbins/Getty Images

UPDATE: The Vikings have deactivated Peterson for Sunday's game.
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Whatever the outcome of the individual games this week, the NFL might want to call for a collective do-over.

Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson has been indicted on a charge of reckless or negligent injury to a child in Texas, the football player's attorney, Rusty Hardin, confirmed Friday to E! News.

"Adrian Peterson has been informed that he was indicted by a grand jury in Montgomery County, Texas, for Injury to a Child," the lawyer said in a statement obtained by E! News. "The charged conduct involves using a switch to spank his son. This indictment follows Adrian's full cooperation with authorities who have been looking into this matter. Adrian is a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son. He used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas.

"Adrian has never hidden from what happened. He has cooperated fully with authorities and voluntarily testified before the grand jury for several hours. Adrian will address the charges with the same respect and responsiveness he has brought to this inquiry from its beginning. It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury."

A grand jury "true billed" Peterson yesterday afternoon, after which a warrant was issued for his arrest, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office announced Friday. No arrest has been made.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office told ESPN that the 29-year-old Peterson had been cooperative with the ongoing investigation.

"The Vikings are in the process of gathering information regarding the legal situation involving Adrian Peterson," the team said in a statement obtained by E! News. "At this time, we will defer further questions to Adrian's attorney Rusty Hardin."

Harry Engels/Getty Images

No further details about the contents of the indictment have been released. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services had no comment.

Tragically, one of Peterson's children, a 2-year-old boy who had been living with his mother in Sioux Falls, S.D., died last October after allegedly being beaten to death by his mom's boyfriend. Joseph Robert Patterson was charged with murder and manslaughter and is awaiting trial. It was reported at the time that Peterson first found out that the boy was his son two months before his death.

Peterson was at Vikings practice earlier today.

Houston's Fox 26 first reported news of the indictment.

The unfortunate development comes as the NFL is still reeling from the release just days ago of a video that showed now-former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice hitting his girlfriend in an elevator six months ago. His arrest on assault charges, which were dropped after he agreed to a diversion program, at first resulted in a two-game suspension, but after the more graphic video was leaked on Monday the Ravens terminated his contract and he was suspended indefinitely from the league.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and league officials have insisted that they had not seen the second video, nor did they know of its existence, when Rice's first punishment was handed down.

—Additional reporting by Lindsay Good and Marcus Mulick

(Originally published Sept. 12, 2014, at 3:15 p.m. PT)