NFL says Peterson discipline will be determined "as quickly as possible"
Posted by Michael David Smith on November 10, 2014, 9:48 PM EST
Responding to a grievance filed by the players' union on behalf of Adrian Peterson, the NFL says it is not dragging its feet on determining discipline — but the league would like Peterson to provide information that he so far has not provided.
"We have received the NFLPA's grievance on behalf of Adrian Peterson," the NFL said in a statement. "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 has only played in one game this season and has essentially been on paid leave since he was indicted on a charge of injuring a child. Peterson entered a no contest plea last week and now wants to be reinstated, but the NFL has declined to say when Peterson might be removed from the Commissioner's Exempt List and allowed to return to the field.
If Peterson wins his grievance, it doesn't mean he can definitely play. It just means that the NFL has to either let him play or suspend him, and remove him from the limbo of the Exempt List.
61 responses to "NFL says Peterson discipline will be determined "as quickly as possible""
fiyeaglesfiy says:
thevikingdefender says:
Hes already been disciplined! What is going on! The games hes missed already should count towards the penelty they are about to slap on him.
doctorrustbelt says:
If the NFL reacts WEAKLY (reinstates child beater adrian peterson)… sponsors/advertisers will abandon the NFL and make the league look worse than it already does.
tokyosandblaster says:
I wonder what you'd all say if I came into your home and beat your child with a stick until he was bleeding, then continued to beat him.
You'd probably say "it's just a misdemeanor. No big deal."
grantsbuds says:
What 'relevent' info? Give him a UA, review the case and man up with a decision. The league is as inept as Ginger on Thursday.
sc5000 says:
How has he been disciplined? Cuz he didn't get to play foozball? Please, he got ANOTHER get out of jail free card slap on the wrist 4 grand fine. He is done this season.
Chmura would.
fondyball20 says:
The legal system has spoken… it's not for the NFL to play moral police. Same for all the high and might posters. If you know better then the prosecutor involved then please share why the plea was agreed upon. He's missed 8 games already, give him a fine and let him play!
46plank says:
The Vikings could do the right thing, cut him and put some teeth into the "No More" campaign. The NFL and the Vikings both have a great opportunity to show they are serious about forcing change on the behavior of their employees.
johnniemayes says:
He will be suspended 6 games via the new collective bargaining agreement. He gets no time served because he was paid.
rooneyruleblues says:
This man beat his child with a stick, causing trauma to his genitalia, yet the people in this forum want him back on the field. If this were you or me we would be behind bars. What a joke.
slugbaitspace says:
Well, they SAY that they asked for relevent information. Seems like I've heard this before…
twisteditoff says:
just sue the NFL that is clearly only way to get threw to them and yes NFL you are dragging your feet try and spin it the way you want to it wont matter anymore wheels are rolling
celticsforever says:
For Peterson: we are explicitly demanding all evidence! Indefinite suspension!
For Rice: Ahhhh I think we've got everything. 2 game suspension son.
twinfan24 says:
Those suggesting sponsors will leave if Peterson plays are fooling yourselves. Players (Stallworth, Little, etc) have killed people and come back to play, with barely a blip on the radar. Peterson went too far disciplining his own kid, which is bad, but WAY short of killing someone.
expertop says:
Good one, tokyo. Another shining example of your typical sound reasoning.
> Right?
sportsguy707 says:
How ridiculous is the nfl – give me a break. How many weeks have they had to figure out the "what if's." Don't tell me that they haven't had meetings and sat down with their attorney's to come up with a plan. Who are they trying to kid?!!
comatrip1 says:
If it's as fast as Josh Gordon's, don't hold your breathe.
wafflestomp says:
I honestly love the impatience from the Viking coalition to reinstate child abusers crowd.
Just a little pathetic.
Nothing like selling out your integrity and moral compass, as long as you get this loser back in time to guide your team to a 7-9 record.
I hope it's worth it.
crawdaddy1212 says:
WOW, just let the man play already
tokyofilthblaster says:
What's the hurry?
The disgraced Vikings were already eliminated in week 7.
iejdaniel says:
Nov 10, 2014 9:54 PM
Nope. I live in Texas; you wouldn't be continuing anything.
pappavike says:
Holy bat fart batman, Tokyosandblaster are you that far of your rocker!! If Peterson came into my home and switched my child it wouldn't be child abuse! It would be assault!! Albeit my children are in thier thirties, but regardless, He disciplined his child not yours or mine!! One should judge thy self not OTHERS!! We all act like we have never sinned a day in our lives. Which is complete bull. Peterson was excessive, haven't we!! Aren't we
mnvikingsfan says:
A week from today, suspend him without pay 6 games. Peterson HAS NOT been disciplined yet, not even in the slightest bit. Let him sit and think about what HE DID TO HIS SON! Let him think about if he will ever play in the NFL again. Let him think about if whipping his son was really worth it!
How can anyone call getting the SAME pay as he would have gotten if playing discipline? Sure, he may have missed incentives, but the was no guarantee he would have gotten those anyway!!
I personally believe Peterson should be defiantly suspend, the next 6 games is a good START!
don2074978 says:
He makes roughly 700K per game check. I'd say the let him play and negotiate a deal with the union AD and the NFL for a huge fine (2.5M) to represent a four game suspension.
unbelievablebs says:
Toyko…I would ask what are you doing in my home hitting my son and then proceed to beat the snot out of you for hitting my son. In this case, Mr. Peterson was using discipline on his own child…and no one in either family thought it a problem because it took a doctor to report him during a routine wellness check. Then the State of Texas said that he committed a felony that consist of an action that caused accidental harm to a person (no mention of child abuse in the charge). Do I agree with his methods..no, but he was raised completely different then me.
People let us really take a moment and ask the question about why we are calling this man a child abuser. This is the first time this happened to him and he recognized his error and is making amends to his son and his family. He owes us nothing, he didn't hurt us. Everyone does something they regret, some more serious then others, but a mistake non the less. Let us really stop labeling someone because we don't agree with his upbringing. He deserves to go back to work, like everyone else that has been in this situation, and it happens more then you tree hugging liberals truly know. He has always been truthful and has never denied his actions. It doesn't make it right but at least he had the balls to tell the truth and have remorse for those actions. And yes everyone, it was a misdemeanor not a felony…before you all tell me to get my facts straight.
shaggytoodle says:
No the games he missed shouldn't count, because he was paid as if he was on the field.
The Vikings freely chose to put Peterson on the list they didn't need to, and they could have left it in the NFLs hands and people wouldn't be able to gripe about this situation, because the NFL would have handled it.
The NFL is constantly worried about their image, what kind of image is portrayed when you say. "Well, because Peterson wasn't on the field, he can go resume playing. "
He needs to be disciplined of sorts, at least fined, but the the NFL would have to determine how much all what he did was "worth". That gets pretty tricky in my opinion.
I think he should get suspended for the rest of the season. He should be with his family and earning the forgiveness he asked for, and it also shows that the NFL is serious when it comes to their employees being involved in proven cases of violence towards children and partners.
I find it ironic while everyone is asking for a quick reaction and discipline.
If Peterson would have took his time and thought through the discipline he was going to hand out. He wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.
kproffo says:
Paid vacation isn't a suspension. Look at the evidence and give him an appropriate suspension. 6 games is what they claimed by the NFL and so it should be. End the paid vacation, and suspend him for 6 games.
mnvikingsfan this man is being punished by being away from the thing he loves. Playing football is not about a paycheck to him, it is about his church, his identity. This is what allowed him not to suffer the same fate as his brother and father. So this is punishing him, not playing is the worst thing that could happen to him. Money fines don't mean anything. Why do you think that he is willing to plead his case…so he can get back to football. I am sure the NFL was aware what was happening, but they ignored it and now are asking him to procure documents they already have and have had for a while. This is clearly a violation of the agreement he made to help the NFL save face. You say HE DID TO HIS SON! That is AP's cross to bare not anyone elses….He son is ok and wants to continue his relationship with his son. He has had 8 weeks to reflect on his actions. The counselors he has worked with have helped him to understand what he did and to find alternative methods….so I don't think he needs anymore time to reflect….he needs to get out in the public and tell everyone what he learned….don't bury this in suspensions….put in the public and let him tell his story.
shaggytoodle he did think about it…he thought about how many times this happened to him and how it changed his life and made him a more disciplined person. He thought this is how I was raised and it instilled in me a work ethic that allowed me to do things no one in the world has done….so yes he thought about it and it made sense to him. Was it correct….one can argue this issue all night….but there are examples of undisciplined children committing horrific acts of violence because they don't have any respect for authority or the law. Will hitting them with a switch change that, maybe…maybe not…I don't have those answers, but those that were do and they will tell you stories of how that type of discipline changed there lives…..Would I use this form of discipline…no, but I was raised in a different segment of society….I can't judge people that don't think and act like me or my family.
My point is:
If it were your kid you'd think differently.
You don't care about this child because he isn't yours.
And that makes you pathetic.
stellarperformance says:
Viking fans want him back before their second annual SuperBowl on the 23rd.
It's called "priorities."
jimrichwi says:
The N)o F)ace L)eague should be immediately renamed to the S)ponsor F)unded L)eague to avoid any further misinterpretation in their ownerships main goals and objectives.
unbelieveablebs
I am totally OK with parents using their own choice of discipline wen dealing with their kids. If a kid earns a spanking they should get one.
He crossed the line with his grossly excessive discipline and thats where I have the problem with it, most people with basic consideration for other humans would too, and unfortunately there are parents that do worse stuff to their children what Peterson did. That doesn't justify they pass it along because that's how they were brought up.
Normal discipline doesn't consist of cramming leaves in a kids mouth, and a dozen strikes. He was way out of line, and doesn't deserve to play this season, its a privilege to play for the NFL not a right.
crimson1b says:
unbelievablebs, wow as a diehard Vikings fan how do I respond. Oh, him being away from football is killing him? Good! I'm sorry, him not getting to play football is the least of my worries. It is killing him he can't play football because it may cost him a couple of hookups. He beat his son to the point he left marks, including on his scrotum. He deserves nothing, he's to dumb to learn from this. Vikings should cut him if he wins his grievance.
unorthodoxdoc says:
Uhh, HE helped out the NFL and the Vikings save face by agreeing to sit. He could have said no, and let the case play out to this same outcome. McDonald didn't agree to sit, and the 49ers couldn't make him. Insufficient evidence in a domestic case involving a pregnant girlfriend/fiancée and police who moonlight after hours for players is more than a little blurred. No big deal made there. Josh Brent, having already been found guilty for a previous DWI, killed his friend and teammate after another night of boozing. He was found guilty of intoxicated manslaughter, and jailed. His penalty was 10 games. For those wanting to bring up the weed thing, Brent was popped twice, and briefly jailed, for violating the conditions of his release while awaiting trial. That, apparently, wasn't held against him when giving him a whole 10 games for killing his buddy.
Fact is, the grand jury refused to indict AP initially. It wasn't until the Ray Rice video was released, that he was charged. The mother of the child spoke on his behalf, and his plea of no contest was to a charge that did not mention or include the terms domestic violence, or violence against a minor. The omission of that phrasing in the single charge of reckless assault isn't by accident, I'm sure. If it isn't classified, technically, as a domestic or child abuse, can he be held to the new policy the NFL made up, hastily, to make up for the Ray Rice blunder?
babygaga19 says:
NFL announces another full year of paid vacation with full union benefits. Life time exemption from training camps. League purchased 1,000,000 M acre ranch in Texas with Mansion and cattle.
khmer379 says:
Kant wait to see him Sunday running all over those kubs lol
1776dejavu says:
Sorry to say but the people that want AP back on the field are selfish Fantasy Football players.
IMO, I think that the moral thing is for him to shut down for the season.
What he did to his 4 year old son is unacceptable by any person, especially a NFL superstar that is idolized by young kids.
Not a good example for the youngsters and anyone else would be under the jail house.
Ray Rice and many other pro ball players are becoming out of control. Let them smoke weed instead of beating women and children.
He's been disciplined the way a cop gets disciplined when they murder someone "accidentally". Paid vacation.
mypercyhurts2 says:
I have to admit, I would be more in Adrian's corner if he hadn't done it to more than one of his kids. Yeah, he didn't get convicted, but I see a trend. Make him at least do his parenting classes and community service.
robert831 says:
This is a hundred times worse than what Vick served time for and Rice knocking his wife out. Way, way worse, this is an innocent little child we are talking about. Many of you make me sick. Vikings need to cut him already and the NFL needs to suspend him indefinitely for at least the rest of this year. Dude should be in prison for a year! Anyone arguing different is cluelessly pathetic. I feel sorry for your misguided morals, and hope you don't have or ever have children.
-Father and Vikings fan.
packmanfan says:
It seems to me that the more AP shows how impatient he is to play football the more it shows how he was just reading a prepared statement that someone else wrote for him following the plea deal.
I mean, he is making it look like he wants to get as far away from his tortured son ASAP and never have anything at all to do with him again after he claimed he wanted to build their relationship.
He should just forget about football and instead try to be a better father for him for the season instead.
This was not a mistake as those who are all too quick to discount it are calling it.
A mistake is stepping on your foot. A mistake is an accident. This was no accident. This was done with intent to harm the kid.
And even if AP was abused this way, that is still no excuse. Instead of ending they cycle of abuse in his family, he is just continuing it by doing this torture.
I bet those who make those type of excuses for him abuse their own kids but are too dishonest or chicken to admit that on here.
He needs to be taught a lesson and so do all other players that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in the NFL by cutting him for good.
Have those who have seen the pictures still want AP to play?
If so then I am very much ashamed that we are both part of the same race. The human race.
nopepper123 says:
He should pull a switch out on the Bears this weekend as they surely deserve it after the Packer game. Sorry, I couldn't resist…..
sparky151 says:
For those saying Peterson hasn't been punished already during his suspension, he's lost eligibility for incentives in his contract (1500 rushing yards, pro bowl, etc). Not sure what the league would want to punish him for since he was convicted of a misdemeanor that doesn't require any jail time and can be removed from his record.
A 1 game fine might be appropriate but he's already missed more games than he would if the league found him guilty of violating the domestic violence policy. Peterson certainly has the right to assert his lack of guilt involving child abuse and the league has no power to get evidence of the child's condition. So apparently they want to circumvent their inability to obtain evidence by drawing Peterson into a "confession" which would be used as the basis for a 6 game suspension or if he declines to confess they will claim he failed to cooperate. He's not obliged to provide the rope to be lynched with.
NJ49er says:
Commissioner's Exempt List =
Dean Wormer's Double Secret Probation sentence imposed on Delta Tau Chi
Animal House reincarnated.
robinobishop says:
So, we have a world of folks who are losing $$$$ on him not playing.If he wasn't a talent, he would have been cut then suspended.
ecppeaters says:
My biggest issue with the NFL is that discipline is not evenly distributed. You have a player caught shoplifting/offering money to public servant for sex , which are misdemeanors, and they look the other way. They have players who get in a car, and drive way over the legal alcohol limit, that exposes other drivers to harm. These guys are playing, until the NFL decides punishment (if any). In Peterson's case his plea was -no contest-. This plea would not ever been accepted by a prosecutor that thought he had even the slightest chance of selecting a jury that would vote unanimously to convict. So basically Peterson made this plea, so that he could play football this season. Its not the NFL's duty to try him again. The NFL can state that they are worried about losing sponsors, but lets be real, if they had not lost they over what has happened in this league over that last 10 years, then it is going to happen now. Any sponsor that does leave, will be replaced by another willing company anxious to have attention of millions of NFL fans seeing their product.
davetrembley says:
All of the comments here are saying what should happen.
My comment is different. I am going to tell you what WILL happen.
Peterson will not play again this year. He will be suspended for the rest of the season.
Watch and learn, my PFT friends.
stunningtruth says:
Peterson's case is not really done because he is on probation. The NFL obviously wants to see the court records so they can understand the conditions of his probation to assess some risk level of Peterson finding himself back in court….
it is funny to read comments "he was raised that way" – sounds like a bunch of hillbillies – like there is no moral compass in society.
Yep, Jed, beat the crap out of that little guy for pushing his brother, that will teach him – then we will take him out back and teach him who is boss…that is how we were raised!
truenorth84 says:
Listen to all this insecurity coming from East of the mn border! It's like a great white is circling the boat or something. He's comin', he's comin'!!
mngirl1978 says:
For those of you that say he hasn't been punished, need to separate their personal feelings from the situation. This is his JOB! They have sat this man out for 8 weeks, with pay. His punishment has been to sit out. Now I believe they should likely fine him as well because I don't believe that he shouldn't have any penalty for his bad decisions. If this were you or I, I am pretty sure we wouldn't be ridiculed or fired for a misdemeanor. Let the courts decide what punishment he should receive for his misconduct. But it's not the league's responsibility to play Judge and Jury.
He made a mistake. As we are aware, it wasn't the first time that he made this mistake. But no one is perfect. Give this man some parenting classes to help him cope with positive disciplining of a child and let him play!
sandiamond says:
Well, well, well what do you know?
I'm back and I'm not silent about this…
Stand up for morals and not football records ppl
That's right, clear intent to harm a 4 year old child. Mr lawyer is fooling the general public to make it seem as a simple incident(s).
unbelievablebs says: Nov 10, 2014 10:48 PM
mnvikingsfan this man is being punished by being away from the thing he loves. Playing football is not about a paycheck to him, it is about his church, his identity. This is what allowed him not to suffer the same fate as his brother and father. So this is punishing him, not playing is the worst thing that could happen to him.
Being away from football is something he should have thought of BEFORE he whipped his kid bloody!
Oh wait, maybe he did think of it. Maybe being afraid of being caught was the reason he stuffed leaves in the kid's mouth to muffle potential SCREAMS OF PAIN!
As a father/grandfather, I do not have one iota of sympathy for Peterson. He deserves far more in regards to punishment than he has received so far.
As a Vikings fan I hope he NEVER wears a purple Vikings jersey Ever again! But then again, I hope he never wears a NFL jersey again either!
Id like to ask everyone a question where did we get our Parenting license, Or how did we learn to parent. I see because you weren't raised a certain way its wrong? I'm not saying what Peterson did was an accident, He intended to discipline his child. And over did it! You may not aprove and thats your right! The same right others have to spank, or switch thier child. If you don't want to watch Peterson play fine!! Watch somthing else.