By John Shipley

St. Paul Pioneer Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Vikings fans who had their Adrian Peterson jerseys ready for Sunday’s home opener were presented with a decision Sunday morning: To wear or not to wear?

Peterson, the Vikings’ star running back, was deactivated Friday evening for the game against the New England Patriots, hours after being indicted in Texas on a charge of injuring a child. But on the light rail headed to Stadium Village and on the plaza surrounding TCF Bank Stadium, his No. 28 jerseys were plentiful.

“I only have two jerseys,” said Caitlin Callahan of Cannon Falls, Minn. “It was either that or Ponder; take your pick.”

Christian Ponder also was inactive for Sunday’s game, but because he’s the third quarterback. Peterson’s case is the latest in a series of ugly NFL player issues that came to a head during what might have been the worst public relations week in NFL history.

Callahan and her friend Shane Havenestrite of West Union, Iowa, were taking the light rail to Sunday’s game. Both thought the Vikings’ decision to deactivate Peterson before the legal process had played out was premature, but they also said that if Peterson is found culpable of beating his 4-year-old son with a tree branch, as the indictment alleges, the NFL should punish him severely.

“I don’t think he should play, ever again,” Callahan said. “I’m all for AP, but I have no tolerance for that.”

Peterson was booked and released Friday in Montgomery County, Texas.

His lawyer, Rusty Hardin, released a statement acknowledging that his client was charged for using a “switch” on his son, adding, “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.”