Adrian Peterson assigned Dec. 1 court date

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was assigned a Dec. 1 court date on felony child abuse charges.

"I think I want to try to be like the coach of the New England Patriots for a time," lawyer Rusty Hardin said. "Instead of 'on to Cincinnati,' we're on to trial."

Peterson didn't enter a plea. He was planning to plead not guilty if he had been asked to enter one, according to his legal team.

Peterson wants an expedited trial.

"Look, this is a really good man that I am incredibly proud to represent," Hardin said. "This is a case about parenting decisions and whether something unfortunate happened when a parenting decision was made by a man who believes strongly and loves his children very much.

"I would ask you all to please be tolerant to the fact that Adrian is chomping at the bit to publicly talk and to publicly defend himself, and the only reason he hasn't is us insisting and jumping up and down and saying, 'The solution is for you to get a speedy trial and resolve all this in a courtroom.'"

"We will continue to coach the guys that are here," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. "We'll worry about that situation when it happens. And I wish the very best for Adrian, because I believe in him as a person and I believe in him that he's a good guy. So, I wish the best for Adrian and then we'll worry about the rest when more concrete news comes out, I guess."

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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun

Aaron Wilson
Aaron Wilson covers the NFL for National Football Post, his second stint at the Post. He has previously written for Pro Football Talk and FOX Sports-Scout. Entering his 13th year covering the Baltimore Ravens, he's a beat writer for The Baltimore Sun. Wilson has also covered the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans.

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