It was announced today that Roger Goodell decided to throw the book at Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. The NFL ruled they will suspended Peterson without pay for the remainder of the 2014 NFL season. He will not be evaluated for reinstatement until after April 2015. Peterson is expected to appeal the suspension.
Yes, this situation could get even uglier.
ESPN’s Ed Werder said that there’s a possibility Peterson could play this weekend if the arbitrator sides with Peterson.
The NFL must abide by the rules laid out in the CBA…so Goodell must give away some of the power to an arbitrator. Will Peterson suit up this season?
One could argue that the NFL opened up Pandora’s Box by suspending Peterson for acts that some believe is an agreed upon form of child punishment. But let’s not forget that the state of Texas already intervened and thought Peterson’s actions were extreme enough to charge him with child abuse. This isn’t a case of the NFL solely sticking their nose somewhere it doesn’t belong.
After the child abuse allegations were made public, Peterson was placed on the NFL Exempt/Commissioner’s Permission List…which sounds made up. It actually exists, but didn’t seem like anyone knew about it until after really good players like Greg Hardy and Peterson found themselves in trouble.
Well, it appears that Peterson’s placement on the ‘super secret probation exempt list’ could have totally screwed him. I guess his camp was under the assumption that if they went along with it, once his suspension came out, he would credited for time served. Not only were they assuming that, but the NFLPA claim an NFL executive told Peterson exactly that.
As much as I want to see Goodell with more egg on his face, let’s not forget that Peterson did do a horrible thing and he does need to be adequately punished. Does he deserve to miss nearly an entire season? Probably not, but the timing of his arrest was less than ideal. Peterson will end up getting a stiffer sentence due to Goodell’s inability to handle the Ray Rice case. He has to take a hard stance on someone and with Rice no longer on the Ravens (and will probably never play another down in the NFL), Peterson is next in line.
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About the Author…
Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob.