Adrian Peterson's child abuse case has changed the player as he promises to never use switches to discipline any of his children.

In an interview with USA Today, the former Minnesota Vikings star spoke about his children, the severity of his case and his wishes to return to the NFL. Peterson was accused of child abuse in September after disturbing photos of his son's welp-filled legs hit the net. Peterson later admitted that he hit his child with a switch; something that he was accustomed to during his childhood. Since taking a no-contest plea to a misdemeanor reckless assault charge for the case, Peterson says he knows there are more effective ways to discipline his children.

"I won't ever use a switch again," Peterson said. "There's different situations where a child needs to be disciplined as far as timeout, taking their toys away, making them take a nap. There's so many different ways to discipline your kids."

Peterson, who has six children by six different women, is allowed to talk to his children on the phone. After talking to his son recently, the NFL player says he's hoping to reconnect with him and make things right.

"When he got on the phone, he said, 'Hey Dad,'" Peterson said "I was like, 'Hey buddy, how you doing?' 'I'm doing OK.' I was like, 'I love you.' He was like, 'I love you, too, Dad. Can I come over to your house?'" Peterson said. "No one knows how I felt when I turned my child around after spanking him and seeing what I had left on his leg. No one knows that Dad sat there and apologized to him, hugged him and told him that I didn't mean to do this to you and how sorry I was. I love my son. I love my kids, my family. Like I said after I took the misdemeanor plea, I take full responsibility for my actions. I regret the situation. I love my son more than any one of you could even imagine."

Peterson is currently waiting to see if league commissioner Roger Goodell will lift his suspension so he can play with the Vikings again. If he doesn't return, Peterson says there's no hard feelings.

"I would love to go back and play in Minnesota to get a feel and just see if my family still feels comfortable there," Peterson said. "But if there's word out that hey, they might release me, then so be it. I would feel good knowing that I've given everything I had in me."

Source: USA Today | Photo Credit: Splash News