Vikings bar Peterson again: What we know so far

The Minnesota Vikings have reversed course and say star running back Adrian Peterson has been barred from all team activities, after he was indicted on child abuse charges last week in Texas. He was originally deactivated for the game against New England, the Vikings brought him back under a storm of criticism, and now he's out again. Here's what we know so far:

Q: What happened?

A: The Vikings had a change of heart. Just before 1 a.m. the team's owners released a statement saying Peterson is being placed on what's called the Exempt Commissioner's Permission list. That will mean that he's not allowed to play against the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday, or on any other games until further notice. He's also required to stay away from ALL team activities until further notice. The team said it wants him to resolve what they called his "personal situation."

Q: Did the Vikings offer an explanation?

A: Not really. Here's what they said: "While we were trying to make a balanced decision, after further reflection, we have concluded that this resolution is best for the Vikings and for Adrian. We want to be clear: we have a strong stance regarding the protection and welfare of children, and we want to make sure we get this right." I think we have to assume they decided they weren't getting it right when general manager Rick Spielman announced Peterson would be back on Monday. That drew a lot of criticism when Spielman made that announcement.

Q: Was there reaction to the reinstatement?

A: It started with one of the team's marquee sponsors, Radisson Hotels, who suspended its relationship with the Vikings. Yesterday Nike stores pulled Peterson's jersey off the shelf in local stores. Special Olympics Minnesota and Castrol Motor Oil dropped ties with Peterson himself. Also, Anhueser Bush, the maker of Budweiser and the NFL's official beer, yesterday released a statement saying they were, and I'm quoting here, "Not yet satisfied with the league's handling of behaviors that so clearly go against our company culture and moral code."

Here in Minnesota, we also saw Gov. Dayton react strongly, calling the Peterson's actions a public embarrassment and calling for the Vikings to suspend him. U.S. Senator Al Franken and his GOP challenger Mike McFadden both said the Vikings were wrong. There was also some withering public reaction, like a 10 minute takedown of the Vikings by Keith Olberman on ESPN on Monday.

Q: Might the Vikings have faced a hit to their bottom line?

A: Most sponsors were clearly weighing this deeply. The team didn't speak to that in its statement about Peterson, but they can't have been unaware that they stood to lose more of their sponsors. And remember, they have one more big deal yet to make: They need to sign a sponsor for naming rights for their stadium. That could pay as much as a quarter of the Vikings share of their 500 million contribution to the new stadium, and that needs to be done soon. The conventional wisdom is that the value of that deal will fall if the Vikings don't have a corporate name to put on the stadium when it opens, and a scandal could make it very hard to attract a buyer.

Q: What will the Vikings do now?

A: On Saturday, the district attorney in Montgomery County, Texas, said that Peterson might not face a trial until next year. The Vikings are scheduled to play their last game against Chicago at TCF Bank stadium on Dec. 28, so that means that we may have already seen Adrian Peterson carry the ball for the last time as a Minnesota Viking for this season. And it could be for good. He was the league MVP in 2012, but didn't have as good a year in 2013. His average yards per game dropped by about 30 percent last year from that MVP season. He'll also turn 30 in March, and age is the great enemy of NFL players, particularly offensive rushers.