Let's go ahead and chalk up the Adrian Peterson suspension as another mistake for the NFL as it tries to police its own league.
The NFL suspended Peterson after the completion of his court case involving him injuring his 4-year-old son with a switch. On Thursday a federal judge said the NFL arbitrator who made that suspension decision overstepped his authority and applied the NFL's new conduct policy retroactively to Peterson's case, so he overturned the suspension. The Star-Tribune said Judge David Doty sent "the case back for further arbitration proceedings 'consistent with' the players’ collective bargaining agreement." The NFL said it is reviewing the ruling, and hasn't yet said whether it will reinstate Peterson, appeal or arbitrate again. According to Doty's order (via the Star-Tribune), Peterson and the NFL agreed in writing on Sept. 18 that he would be put on the commissioner's exempt list until his court case was resolved. Peterson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault in November. The NFL called a disciplinary hearing for Peterson, keeping him on the exempt list in the interim, and Peterson didn't show up because the NFL Players Association was upset about the process and that the league wasn't honoring what the union said was an agreement to reinstate him.
Doty agreed with Peterson and the NFLPA, saying former NFL executive Harold Henderson was wrong to suspend Peterson without pay for the remainder of the season on Nov. 18. The NFLPA argued many points, including that Peterson wasn't allowed time to submit his position in writing to commissioner Roger Goodell, and that Peterson was being punished under a new policy, even though the incident took place before that was implemented in late August.
It's yet another misstep for the NFL that a judge ruled it wrongfully took away games and pay from Peterson last season. In the NFL's other high-profile case last year, Ray Rice's indefinite suspension stemming from his domestic violence case was overturned in late November. Rice still hasn't signed with a new team. In the order, the judge points out that the NFL said it couldn't apply the new policy retroactively in the Rice case, but then applied it retroactively in the Peterson case.
“This is a victory for the rule of law, due process and fairness," NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith said in a statement. "Our collective bargaining agreement has rules for implementation of the personal conduct policy and when those rules are violated, our union always stands up to protect our players' rights. This is yet another example why neutral arbitration is good for our players, good for the owners and good for our game.”
Peterson was supposed to be eligible for reinstatement on April 15. Having the suspension lifted now is important for Peterson because free agency starts on March 10, and there's no guarantee Peterson returns to the Vikings.
Between his $15.4 million cap hit and lingering feelings about how the Vikings handled the situation last year, Peterson is no sure thing to return. The Vikings have been able to stall because Peterson was suspended. Now the timetable for a decision will speed up.
No comments:
Post a Comment