ATHLETIC ASSHOLES

[HairOfTheDog]

Goodell suspends Adrian Peterson without pay / Players' Union files appeal


Peterson with his (damned good) attorney Rusty Hardin.

Arbitrator Shyam Das ruled on Monday that the NFL was not required to remove Peterson from the Exempt List once he resolved his legal issue by pleading no contest to a charge of injuring his son. Peterson losing his grievance means that the arbitrator agrees with the league’s contention that the commissioner gets to decide when a player comes off the Commissioner’s Exempt List.

Roger Goodell on Tuesday suspended Peterson without pay for the rest of the season and told him he will not be considered for reinstatement before April 15, 2015 for his violation of the NFL's personal conduct policy.

The union says Peterson was told the games he missed while on a special exempt list would count as time served toward a suspension. The 2012 NFL MVP played in just one game for the Minnesota Vikings this season and was placed on the commissioner's exempt list on Sept. 18.

NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent told USA Today Sports that he was the person who told Peterson that he would get credit for his time on the exempt list. But because Peterson refused to attend a meeting with the league last Friday, that promise couldn't be kept. "But Adrian, you've got to come talk," Vincent said to Peterson, he told USA Today Sports. "You, your team, your counselors, whoever. Just come and tell us where you are." Peterson refused to attend because he wanted it to be an arbitrator-run meeting.

Full story: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/119085...ta-vikings