Adrian Peterson faces DWI charge in Minnesota after arrest following Vikings draft party
Updated: 2:51 PM EDT Apr 25, 2025
DRAFT. THE RED CARPET IS THE GREEN CARPET THIS YEAR AT THE NFL DRAFT HERE IN GREEN BAY. BUT BACK WHEN MILWAUKEE HOSTED THE 1940 NFL DRAFT, THERE WAS NO RED CARPET FOR THE PROSPECTS. BUT IT WAS STILL A BIG DEAL WITH A LOT OF BIG NAMES IN THE LEAGUE ON HAND AT AN ICONIC HOTEL JUST OFF OF WISCONSIN AVENUE IN DOWNTOWN MILWAUKEE IS THE HISTORIC HILTON, FORMERLY THE SCHROEDER HOTEL AND THE HOST OF THE BADGER STATE’S FIRST NFL DRAFT. ON DECEMBER 9TH, 1939. DOES THAT SURPRISE A LOT OF PEOPLE? I THINK SO IT SURPRISED ME. I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW IT WAS PART OF OUR HISTORY. GREGG MARCUS IS THE CURRENT OWNER OF THE HOTEL AND GAVE US A TOUR INSIDE THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENED. OKAY, GREG, TELL ME ABOUT THIS ROOM. WELL, WE’RE IN THE EMPIRE BALLROOM. THE 1940 DRAFT, WHICH WAS HELD AT, ODDLY, AT THE END OF 1939 FOR THE 1940 SEASON, WAS HELD IN THIS ROOM, 85 YEARS AGO, JUST THE FIFTH DRAFT IN NFL HISTORY. I THINK PROBABLY THE DRAFT WAS PROBABLY REALLY CENTERED RIGHT HERE. PROBABLY A BIG TABLE. AND IF YOU CAN IMAGINE, THAT’S PROBABLY WHERE THEY ANNOUNCE THE DRAFT PICKS. THEY HAD CHALKBOARDS. WE THINK ON THE WALLS WE DON’T EXACTLY KNOW, BUT IT WOULD MAKE SENSE SHOWING WHO GOT PICKED WHEN THE EMPIRE BALLROOM HAS NOT CHANGED MUCH IN NEARLY A CENTURY. WELL, SURPRISINGLY, A LOT OF IT IS WHAT WAS HERE. IT’S AN ART DECO HOTEL. WE HAVE THE CHANDELIERS, THE MEDALLIONS ON THE WALL, THE LIGHTING. WHEN MARCUS FAMILY PURCHASED THE PROPERTY IN THE 1970S, THEY DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS A PART OF LEAGUE LORE. I MEAN, THINK ABOUT IT. THIS IS WHERE PEOPLE’S DREAMS WERE COMING TRUE AND MEMORIES WERE BEING MADE. WHEN YOU HAVE A HOTEL LIKE THIS, HISTORICAL EVENTS HAPPEN AT THESE PLACES OVER TIME. WE’VE HAD PRESIDENTS STAY HERE. WE’VE HAD A FUTURE KING STAY HERE. SOME OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN NFL AND PACKERS HISTORY ATTENDED THE ONE DAY EVENT. SITTING IN THESE HALLOWED HALLS WAS CURLY LAMBEAU AND GEORGE HALAS. ALL THE PEOPLE WE ALL KNOW TODAY AS THE HEROES OF THE NFL FROM YESTERYEAR. BACK THEN, THE DRAFT FEATURED ONLY TEN TEAMS BUT HAD 22 ROUNDS. THE GREEN BAY PACKERS SELECT JORDAN MORGAN, WHICH IS MORE THAN TRIPLE WHAT IT IS NOW. THE MEMORY OF BEING DRAFTED TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYER STARTED HERE BACK IN 1940. AND NOW FAST FORWARD, YOU KNOW, 85 YEARS LATER AND IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN AGAIN, JUST A LITTLE BIT TO THE NORTH. WHAT DO YOU THINK SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES ARE FROM 2025 TO 1940? WELL, THEY’RE NOT SMOKING BECAUSE WE KNOW THIS WAS A BIG SMOKE FILLED ROOM THERE. CERTAINLY PROBABLY NOT DRINKING BECAUSE I’M SURE IF THEY WERE SMOKING THEY WERE PROBABLY DRINKING IN HERE. AND THEY’RE PROBABLY NOT DRINKING AT THE DRAFT. WELL, FANS ARE THE FANS. EXACTLY RIGHT. I HEARD THERE MIGHT HAVE BEEN A BIG DINNER SERVED THAT NIGHT HERE. A BIG TENDERLOIN DINNER, I GUESS, GETTING READY BECAUSE THE NEXT DAY THE PACKERS PLAYED IN THE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIPS OVER AT STATE FAIR PARK, WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY THE DRAFT WAS HERE. TO ME, EVEN PERSONALLY, IT MEANS A LOT TO KNOW THAT THE PACKERS HAD HAD INVOLVEMENT HERE IN MILWAUKEE AND THAT THE NFL WAS HERE. AND IN CASE YOU’RE WONDERING, THE TOP OVERALL PICK IN THE 1940 NFL DRAFT, THE CHICAGO CARDINALS
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Adrian Peterson faces DWI charge in Minnesota after arrest following Vikings draft party
Updated: 2:51 PM EDT Apr 25, 2025
Former star running back Adrian Peterson was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Friday in Minnesota after appearing at an NFL draft party for Vikings fans.Related video above: First NFL Draft in Wisconsin held at Milwaukee hotelAccording to Hennepin County jail records, Peterson was booked at 5:16 a.m. and released from custody at 7:31 a.m. on a $4,000 bond. The 40-year-old faces a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired and a court date in Minneapolis on May 9.State Patrol Lt. Mike Lee told the Minnesota Star Tribune that a trooper observed Peterson driving 83 mph in a 55-mph zone and administered a preliminary breath test that measured his blood alcohol content at 0.14%. The legal limit for driving in Minnesota is 0.08%.Peterson was traveling on a suburban freeway about 8 miles south of U.S. Bank Stadium, where the Vikings held their public event around the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night. Peterson was one of several former Vikings players who took part in the festivities.Peterson, who lives in the Houston area, was the seventh overall pick by the Vikings in the 2007 draft. He’s the fifth all-time leading rusher in NFL history with 14,918 yards after 10 seasons with the Vikings and bouncing around with six other teams over his final five seasons in the league.
Former star running back Adrian Peterson was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving early Friday in Minnesota after appearing at an NFL draft party for Vikings fans.
Related video above: First NFL Draft in Wisconsin held at Milwaukee hotel
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According to Hennepin County jail records, Peterson was booked at 5:16 a.m. and released from custody at 7:31 a.m. on a $4,000 bond. The 40-year-old faces a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of driving while impaired and a court date in Minneapolis on May 9.
State Patrol Lt. Mike Lee told the Minnesota Star Tribune that a trooper observed Peterson driving 83 mph in a 55-mph zone and administered a preliminary breath test that measured his blood alcohol content at 0.14%. The legal limit for driving in Minnesota is 0.08%.
Peterson was traveling on a suburban freeway about 8 miles south of U.S. Bank Stadium, where the Vikings held their public event around the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night. Peterson was one of several former Vikings players who took part in the festivities.
Peterson, who lives in the Houston area, was the seventh overall pick by the Vikings in the 2007 draft. He’s the fifth all-time leading rusher in NFL history with 14,918 yards after 10 seasons with the Vikings and bouncing around with six other teams over his final five seasons in the league.
