Steelers Ramon Foster took punishment from a switch growing up

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is facing possible jail time, as well as suspension from the NFL, for hitting his child with a switch as a form of punishment. Steelers left guard Ramon Foster told the The Fan Morning Show Tuesday he has experience with such punishment and credits it with making him into the man he is now.

The entire interview can be heard here.

"Rest in peace my mom, but she raised us in the right way, and I commend her for that. I don’t judge her raising of us at all," Foster said."Some families are not going to learn from those ways. You can give guidelines for how to raise a child, but you can’t tell a person how to directly raise their child because every situation is different."

Foster stresses education on such matters both at the league and union levels, and he points out there are certain issues that many players simply may not be prepared to deal with for a variety of reasons.

"There are some underlying issues that guys are raised with, that guys inherit, because of the situation they were brought up in," Foster said. "These situations are something we have to have outside classes for, we have to have training for. Just the education of it, to let them know that you’re going to be judged at a higher risk, or if you have this problem, we have help for you. I think that needs to be put out there more, and it will be."

Peterson was deactivated before the Vikings' 30-7 loss to the New England Patriots in Week 2, and the team set off a hailstorm of criticism Tuesday when it announced Peterson would play in Week 3. The Vikings have already had one long-time sponsor, Radisson Hotels, back out from their support of the team.

It probably won't be the last, either.

The Steelers will play the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte Sunday, possibly not having to face defensive end Greg Hardy. He has also been mired in a criminal quandary, facing domestic-assault charges stemming from an alleged attack on a woman. There has been disposition in the trial and, under North Carolina law, he's entitled to a jury trial which is scheduled for Nov. 17. Cries for earlier suspension are growing in Charlotte, and Hardy was deactivated for the Panthers' Week 2 game against the Lions.

In a period of time that has been about as tough on the NFL as any other in history, Foster's vision of education for players certainly is well-received. While only a few players are representing the many in an extremely poor light, teams have little choice in these matters but to come to earlier decisions on their suspensions. That means suspending them before their trials, coming perilously close to suspending them without charge - much like a certain quarterback who was given a six-game suspension based his inconsistency "with the values of the league or expectations from the fans."

Education may help to a degree, but it certainly will do little to quell the massive protest the league will continue to endure if either Hardy or Peterson plays this weekend. Reports suggest it's unknown at this time if Hardy will suit up Sunday, but he has been practicing.