MINNEAPOLIS – The NFL's hard line on Adrian
Peterson held up.
The league-appointed arbitrator for Peterson's
appeal affirmed the unpaid suspension until at least
next spring, the final result of the child-abuse case
that kept the Minnesota running back out of all but
one game this season and widened the rift between
the NFL and its players over the fairness of the
disciplinary process.
The decision by Harold Henderson, a former league
official, was announced Friday.
That means Peterson, though he avoided jail time
and a felony conviction, has been fined more than
$4.1 million as part of the punishment from the NFL.
That's the cost of the six-game suspension that
was issued Nov. 18 under the league's personal
conduct policy. He will not be considered for
reinstatement before April 15.
The NFL Players Association called Henderson's
objectivity into question and said it was
"considering immediate legal remedies" to the
decision.
"The NFLPA expected this outcome, given the
hearing officer's relationship and financial ties to
the NFL," the union said in a statement. "The
decision itself ignores the facts, the evidence and
the collective bargaining agreement.
This decision
also represents the NFL's repeated failure to adhere
to due process and confirms its inconsistent
treatment of players."
Responding to earlier union criticism of Henderson,
the NFL said that was unwarranted, pointing to his
current post as president of the NFL Player Care
Foundation, which is funded jointly by the union and
the league. This was the 88th appeal Henderson
has heard.
Henderson's announcement was a decisive victory
for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, whose
authority was overruled last month by the arbitrator
in the case of former Baltimore running back Ray
Rice. Former U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones said
Goodell acted arbitrarily with an "abuse of
discretion" by extending of a two-game suspension
for Rice into an indefinite ban when video surfaced
of Rice punching the woman who's now his wife.
Rice was reinstated, but he had no team to return to
because the Ravens released him a week into the
season.
The union's grievance for Peterson was similar,
arguing essentially that Goodell was making up
protocol for discipline as he went along. But
Henderson forcefully wrote that he saw no bounds
being overstepped by the league boss.
After Rice's case emerged, Goodell announced in
August a stiffer penalty for players involved with
domestic violence. The union argued that Peterson,
who was charged with felony child abuse in
September for use a wooden switch to discipline his
4-year-old son in May, should be subject to the
prior guidelines. Henderson said that argument
didn't matter.
"The Commissioner has broad discretion to impose
appropriate discipline for violations of the personal
conduct policy, and his recent pronouncements
simply reflect his current thinking on domestic
violence and other incidents involving physical
force," Henderson wrote.
The Vikings declined to comment.
Peterson led the NFL in rushing twice, including
2012 when he had 2,097 yards and fell 9 yards
short of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season
record, but he might never play again for the
Vikings after this mess.
The three-time Associated Press All-Pro pick and
six-time Pro Bowl selection has a contract that
runs through 2017, but that's not guaranteed like
the other major sports. The Vikings could release
him before next season and owe him nothing, taking
only a $2.4 million hit on their 2015 salary cap.
The Vikings initially announced Peterson would stay
on the active roster after the first game he missed
following the indictment, but they reversed course
less than two days later following intense public
pressure and placed him on the exempt list at
Goodell's approval. That's like paid leave, which the
union argued counted as discipline and therefore
contributed to an overreaching punishment.
Henderson dismissed that argument, too.
Peterson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor
reckless assault in Texas on Nov. 4 for probation
time, community service and a small fine. He
acknowledged physically disciplining the boy as he
had been as a youth, but he said he meant no harm
and was sorry for the trouble he caused.
"I love my son more than any of you can imagine,"
he said outside the courthouse that day.
Still, Henderson sided with Goodell in his written
reprimand of Peterson's purported lack of remorse.
"While the discipline assessed is indeed greater
than in most prior cases, this is arguably one of the
most egregious cases of domestic violence in this
Commissioner's tenure -- the severe beating of a
4-year old child, with a tree branch, striking him
repeatedly about the body and inflicting injuries
visible days later," Henderson said.
At the crux of the NFLPA's argument for
reinstatement was what NFL executive vice
president for football operations Troy Vincent told
Peterson last month with the dispute at its height.
The union claimed Vincent told Peterson he would
receive a two-game ban if he attended a hearing on
Nov. 14 with Goodell. Peterson declined to meet that
day with Goodell, citing uncertainty about the NFL's
intent to question him. Goodell then announced on
Nov. 18 the suspension.
A recording and a transcript of what Vincent told
Peterson was presented by the NFLPA to
Henderson, who oversaw a hearing on Dec. 2.
Peterson attended that and listened via telephone as
the hearing continued on Dec. 4, when Vincent was
questioned.
But Henderson concluded Peterson was not retailed
against for not going to meet with Goodell.
"Mr. Vincent testified that he never promised a two-
game suspension or that the old policy would
control, but rather encouraged Mr. Peterson to `go
through the process and all things will be
considered,"' Henderson wrote. "He said, `I didn't
promise Adrian anything. Never promised. Adrian
needed to show up. Talk."'
source: Fox
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