After bungling their handling of the Ray Rice situation so badly, the NFL did the right thing and suspended Adrian Peterson without pay for the rest of the season. He can't even apply for reinstatement until April 15. Yet according to Peterson and his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, this punishment was too harsh. Too harsh!? They're kidding, right?
Throughout this entire ordeal, Adrian Peterson has proven that he simply doesn't get it. He beat his four-year-old child with a switch. Peterson claims he was merely "disciplining" his son. Well, that would be fine if the police hadn't gotten involved. When they deem it was serious enough to press child abuse charges, it's a pretty clear indication that Peterson went too far. Regardless of whatever explanation Peterson tries to offer, he was indicted for child abuse. The fact that he copped a plea deal is completely irrelevant.
Despite the pending charges in Texas, the Vikings actually allowed Peterson to play against the Patriots in Week 2. And if that wasn't bad enough, Vikings fans showed absolutely no class and incredibly poor taste by coming to the game wearing their Peterson jerseys and bringing their homemade "switches" with them. It was only after the incredible backlash that Peterson and the Vikings agreed he'd be placed on the commissioner's exempt list until the legal situation was resolved. In other words, he was suspended with pay. That alone is a joke.
Then Peterson agreed to his plead guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge. As a result, his time on the Commissioner's Exempt List came to an end. And in Peterson's mind, that meant he'd be free to rejoin the Vikings. Further proof that Adrian Peterson's world is completely different than the world that the rest of us live in. I really do think he truly believes he hasn't done anything wrong.
The problem is, there was no way Roger Goodell was going to let him play again this season. Everyone knew that. Except apparently for Adrian Peterson. In Peterson's mind, being off the exempt list equaled reinstatement. That's not even close to what the NFL said. The NFL said that they weren't going to take any action until the case was resolved. Once it was, Peterson was suspended, without pay, for the rest of the season under the personal conduct policy.
But Peterson couldn't accept that. He's crying foul. Through the NFLPA (which I don't blame for acting on the behalf of one of its union members), he filed a grievance, claiming, among other things, that he was promised by an NFL executive the time on the exempt list would count as time served when considering any league discipline. They also claimed that the NFL was inconsistent in its ruling, citing the incredibly light two-game ban Rice initially received. Never mind the fact that the personal conduct policy was rewritten in wake of the Rice saga and the minimum suspension is now six games. All of this, they argued, was a violation of the CBA and he should be reinstated immediately.
Peterson had a hearing scheduled with the NFL. He didn't bother to attend. Another sign that he doesn't get how serious this situation actually is. Goddell said exactly that in his letter to Peterson, expressing concern that he doesn't fully appreciate the "seriousness of his conduct." Goddell added: "You have shown no meaningful remorse for your conduct. When indicted, you acknowledged what you did but said that you would not eliminate 'whooping my kids' and defended your conduct in numerous published text messages to the child's mother. You also said that you felt 'very confident with my actions because I know my intent.' These comments raise the serious concern that you do not fully appreciate the seriousness of your conduct, or even worse, that you may feel free to engage in similar conduct in the future."
He immediately appealed the suspension. The arbitrator, Shyam Das (the same guy who was famously fired my MLB for overturning Ryan Braun's suspension) ruled in favor of the NFL. He explained that, in his opinion, the league didn't violate either the letter agreement or the CBA. As a result, he remains on the exempt list until his appeal can be heard. More importantly, he stays off the football field, which is the last place he belongs.
Adrian Peterson may be right about one thing. The NFL might be looking to make an example of him after how badly they screwed up with Ray Rice. So what? That doesn't make Peterson a victim, which is what he would have you believe. The victim here is the defenseless four-year-old boy. Not the 30-year-old professional football player.
What Ray Rice did was bad. He deserved to be suspended. So did Adrian Peterson. Especially because what Peterson did was worse. The sooner he gets that, the better. Then maybe he'll get some sympathy from me.
We're a society built on second chances. I don't think Adrian Peterson should be denied the opportunity to play in the NFL again. But he doesn't deserve that opportunity yet. Especially since he doesn't even comprehend what's going on. A second chance? How about getting a clue first? Once you do that, then we'll talk.
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