June 20, 2012: Minnesota Vikings NFL football running back Adrian Peterson talks about his rehab following surgery for a torn ACL suffered last season, as he addressed reporters during minicamp in Eden Prairie, Minn. (AP)
The public perception of embattled running back Adrian Peterson — already banned from NFL activities following allegations of child abuse — has taken another hit as allegations surface that the former Minnesota Viking’s charity had financial improprieties.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Peterson was the center of an incident in an Eden Prairie hotel room that ended with a rape accusation and a lengthy police investigation that did not end in criminal charges. But, according to a 38-page police report on the 2011 incident, two relatives, including Peterson’s brother, a minor, were involved in a night of drinking and sex that Peterson’s relative told police was paid for using a company credit card for Peterson’s All Day, Inc.
“As the night wore on, the report says, one woman who said she knew Peterson previously became upset when she saw him having sex with another woman,” the newspaper reports. “She started an argument that lasted at least an hour. According to the report, when she told him that she was ‘emotionally attached to him,’ Peterson reminded her that he was engaged to another woman and had a baby.”
Prosecutors chose not to file charges following the rape accusation, which was first reported by TMZ on Sept. 26.
Peterson, who has fathered at least six children with six different women, and those children live in at least three states — Minnesota, Georgia and Texas — according to court records reviewed by the Star Tribune. In a 2013 interview, Peterson declined to say how many children he had.
“I know the truth,” he told ESPN. “I’m comfortable with that knowledge.”
Peterson’s indictment has also led to increased scrutiny of his charity, which focuses on at-risk children, particularly girls. The charity’s 2011 financial report showed $247,064 in total revenue, and listed just three organizations that received money. A fourth outlay, titled simply “clothing for needy families,” listed “unknown” for the number of recipients, the newspaper reports.
In 2009, the charity said its largest gift, $70,000, went to Straight From the Heart Ministries in Laurel, Md. But Donna Farley, president and founder of the Maryland organization, told the newspaper it never received any money from Peterson’s foundation.
“There have been no outside [contributions] other than people in my own circle,” Farley told the newspaper. “Adrian Peterson — definitely not.”
Furthermore, the East Texas Food Bank, based in Tyler, said it received money from Peterson’s foundation in 2009, although the foundation’s tax filing for that year listed just one donation to a food bank — the North Texas Food Bank, based in Dallas.
Colleen Brinkmann, the chief philanthropy officer for the North Texas Food Bank, told the Star Tribune that while her agency partnered with Dallas Cowboys players, she could not recall ever getting money from the All Day Foundation.
“Was he with the Cowboys before?” she asked of Peterson. “I’m not a football fan.”
Peterson is scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday.
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