MINNEAPOLIS — For as long as he has been in the NFL, Adrian Peterson has been one of the most popular and marketable stars in the league, an approachable superstar with the kind of inspirational comeback story that made him an endorser’s dream.Now that he is facing a felony charge of child abuse for spanking his 4-year-old son with a wooden switch, the Minnesota running back is in the middle of a firestorm the likes of which he has never seen before, and several high-profile sponsors are starting to distance themselves while the controversy envelopes a league in crisis.In the wake of the Vikings’ decision to allow Peterson to play while the legal process plays out in Texas, the Radisson hotel chain has suspended its relationship with the Vikings, Special Olympics Minnesota and Mylan Inc. severed ties with Peterson and Nike stores in the Twin Cities have stopped selling merchandise with his name on it.And Peterson’s All Day Foundation, which has been devoted to helping children, put up and took down a series of statements on its website before shutting it down, including one that said it “will re-engage after Adrian, his family, and staff have reflected on how the current situation impacts the direction for Adrian’s philanthropy.”“It is an awful situation,” said Gov. Mark Dayton, who spearheaded an effort to secure $477 million in public funding for a stadium that is being built downtown. “Yes, Mr. Peterson is entitled to due process and should be ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ However, he is a public figure; and his actions, as described, are a public embarrassment to the Vikings organization and the State of Minnesota.