(Photo: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports)

Adrian Peterson says NFL locker rooms aren’t a typical workplace and that the racial slur allegedly used by Richie Incognito in Miami is heard in the Vikings locker room, but he never takes offense.

The reigning NFL MVP talked about locker room culture with Ross Jones of FoxSports.com:

“You really got to understand the environment you’re in. You are in the locker room with 60 alpha males. Sixty guys who are in the NFL, they are men. So, when I actually heard about the situation [in Miami] it was funny to me because I really couldn’t believe it was taking place in the NFL locker room.

[…]  It’s men. There’s no other [place], not even basketball where there’s so many guys in one space. Things like that happen. People say crazier things than just the N-word.”

What sorts of things? Even hearing a teammate praise Christian Ponder’s quarterback play couldn’t be crazier than that. But that’s locker room culture. Players say things within the confines of a locker room that they wouldn’t say in public (most of them, anyway). It’s the same way your emails to friends are different than the emails you write to co-workers. There are shades of grey in discussions about the acceptability of locker room behavior, which is why it’s important to hear what a respected man who operates within those walls has to say. Outsiders can offer good perspectives, but there’s nothing like a primary source.