Adrian Peterson apparently grew up being beaten with tree branches – switches, in the parlance – and this made him the man he is today.

Running back, icon, parent who hits his children with switches and leaves marks.

Once again, the pictures – as they did in the Ray Rice case – make a graphic difference in the perception of the offense.

Charles Barkley, the philosopher-king of sports, noted in a television interview that where he grew up in the south, the entire neighborhood would have been in jail if beating children were a crime.

And the Minnesota Vikings, Peterson’s employer-turned-enabler, trotted out their general manager to make a few statements on Monday. After stating that the organization does not take child abuse lightly (and bear in mind the pictures of Peterson’s scarred 4-year-old boy with lacerations on his legs), Rick Spielman said this: “We also feel strongly that this is disciplining a child. Whether it’s an abusive situation or not, or whether he went too far disciplining, we feel very strongly that is the court’s decision.”

Perhaps we should all stop by Spielman’s home, denude his trees and start whacking his children until they bleed. See how long that lasts before he calls the police. Let Peterson take a few swings as well, since he says of himself: “I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser.”

Such beatings of children may be part of a cultural difference, that ‘go get me a switch’ discipline that has for too long been the stuff of southern lore with tales of ‘whuppings’.

The Vikings, who sat Peterson down for last Sunday’s game, reinstated him Monday, even as news of a previous event alleging abuse of another of his children arose. A valued sponsor, Radisson, suspended its participation with the team over the entire issue. Now we’re getting somewhere.

We enjoy the hitting on the football field. Can we keep it there, in the open, and not be hitting children with sticks and women with fists?

Maybe the way to get through to the NFL isn’t to decry such actions as destructive and awful, illegal and immoral. Just let the league know how bad they are for business.