If you expected the Adrian Peterson case to go away simply because NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended him for the remainder of the season, you probably haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to the strife between the league and the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) in recent years.
Speaking to Mike Florio on PFT Live following Goodell’s decision to suspend Peterson, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith indicated that “litigation was inevitable” when it comes to the Peterson case.
In a world of shockers, this hardly classifies as one.
Smith may try to force the league into allowing Peterson to play while the Minnesota Vikings running back appeals his suspension. The NFLPA top dog will also seek out a third party resolution to the appeals process, which makes a ton of sense considering Goodell shouldn’t be able to oversee the appeal of his original decision to suspend Peterson.
Players who are suspended under the league’s new substance abuse or PED policy have the right to suit up while their appeal is being heard. We can fully expect Smith to utilize this argument when it comes to Peterson. With that said, the NFLPA agreed to the current personal conduct policy during the 2011 collective bargaining negotiations. If it wanted to implement a different standard, it probably should have made that a requirement in those negotiations.
Photo: Washington Post