ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush clarified Wednesday that he does not spank his 1-year-old daughter as a form of discipline.
This comes a day after he said on WFAN radio in New York that he would discipline his daughter harshly depending on the situation in response to questions about Adrian Peterson, who is facing charges for the discipline of his 4-year-old son.
"Obviously I'm not going to be spanking a 1-year-old girl."Reggie Bush
"Obviously I'm not going to be spanking a 1-year-old girl," Bush said. "We do discipline her a little bit because she does this thing now where if she doesn't like something or if you say something to her she doesn't like, she kind of swings at you.
"So we're already starting to implement little things like talking to her and saying that's not OK. I think obviously people took it too far and [said] I was doing much worse, and that's not the case."
Bush said that when he was a child, he got "whupped" if he did something wrong, but that in his home, whuppings were essentially spankings. He credited that upbringing for helping him navigate childhood and get to the NFL.
Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson called Peterson's situation "unfortunate" but that he will still discipline his kids.
"Knowing when, how to discipline your kids. This whole situation, you know, it's very unfortunate," Johnson said. "Then you have pictures come out, which made it even worse. I'm going to discipline my kids, you know, and can't nobody tell me how to discipline my kids.
"Like I said, that's not my situation right now. My situation would be private. It's not a public matter when you discipline your family, but unfortunately for him, it had become that. I don't think there's anything wrong with disciplining your child. It teaches them discipline at the same time."
Johnson did not indicate how he disciplines any current or future children but said he felt child discipline should be private. He felt differently about domestic abuse.
"There are some things that just shouldn't be done," Johnson said. "You shouldn't put your hands on a woman, simple as that. Talking about Adrian and going from that to the domestic cases that we have are two totally different things to me."
Some Lions players said the heavy scrutiny the NFL is under now because of the Peterson, Ray Rice and Greg Hardy cases is warranted because of the gravity of domestic violence issues.
"[One hundred] percent I agree," Lions center Dominic Raiola said. "But there should be a black-and-white way it should be handled. Black and white, no gray area, if something happens, boom. You get repercussions. The NFL response should be one way.
"I don't know if you wait for trial by jury. I don't know all the logistics, but if they are going to do it, it should be cut-and-dry."
Raiola said he didn't know what the penalties should be, but right now there is a lot of "gray area." As of now, Rice is suspended indefinitely and Peterson is on the exempt list.
Lions offensive lineman Rob Sims said the NFL is changing now, even if it is in the public eye.
"Just like the world is changing, the league is changing with it," Sims said. "Some things are to the forefront, and we just have to be mindful of that. Every little thing in this league is being scrutinized because of a few individuals, and not getting into what's been done with them or what's this punishment is.
"You play in this league and it's a privilege, and we have to treat it as such."