Isn’t this fun?
It’s almost like a couple is using the media to throw shots at one another in the lead up to a divorce settlement. The NFLPA announced on Monday that it has field an “expedited” grievance on behalf of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in order to clear the way for immediate reinstatement.
The NFLPA has filed an expedited, non-injury grievance to remove Adrian Peterson from the Commissioner’s Exempt list based on explicit language in a signed agreement dated September 18, 2014. We asked the NFL to honor the terms of that agreement last week and as of now, they have failed to respond or comply. It is our obligation to protect all players’ rights, and we will pursue any and all breaches of any contract between a player and his team or the NFL.
The NFL itself waited an entire two hours before responding to the grievance.
NFL on Adrian Peterson grievance: “We have received the NFLPA’s grievance on behalf of Adrian Peterson. We have honored our commitment to Mr. Peterson and the NFLPA not to process or impose any discipline until the criminal charges pending in Texas were resolved. When Mr. Peterson decided not to contest criminal charges, we promptly advised both him and the NFLPA that we were prepared to consider what, if any, discipline should now be imposed under the Personal Conduct Policy. We asked Mr. Peterson and his representatives, including the NFLPA, for relevant information. We have not received any of the requested information, but remain prepared to schedule a hearing and make a determination as quickly as possible based on as much information as available.
Peterson is currently on the commissioner’s exempt list and is only eligible to return to the Vikings if NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstates him.
The players association’s view here is that Peterson was placed on that list simply because he had to deal with his legal issues and didn’t want to be a distraction to the team.
The league counters with the point that it has honored a commitment to Peterson and that it wasn’t prepared to impose any sanctions against the running back until the legal proceedings came to a conclusion. Said legal proceedings ended last week when Peterson reached a plea deal with authorities in the state of Texas.
In any event, we can expect a hearing to occur within the next few days to determine Peterson’s future and whether he will play again this season. The running back has been sidelined since suiting up Week 1 against the St. Louis Rams.