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| Adrian Peterson consented to Vikings paying him not to play, and Greg Hardy could be next | Adrian Peterson consented to Vikings paying him not to play, and Greg Hardy could be next |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Update (4:35 p.m. ET): The Carolina Panthers have announced that Greg Hardy will also be placed on exempt list. | |
| *** | |
| The Minnesota Vikings and the NFL were not the only ones who recognized that the public and the sport’s business partners would not stand for Adrian Peterson continuing to play for the Vikings. Peterson realized it as well. Now it will be interesting to see if Greg Hardy realizes the same thing, for the approach taken by the league and the Vikings in the Peterson case sets a clear precedent for what the NFL undoubtedly would like to see done by Hardy and the Carolina Panthers. | The Minnesota Vikings and the NFL were not the only ones who recognized that the public and the sport’s business partners would not stand for Adrian Peterson continuing to play for the Vikings. Peterson realized it as well. Now it will be interesting to see if Greg Hardy realizes the same thing, for the approach taken by the league and the Vikings in the Peterson case sets a clear precedent for what the NFL undoubtedly would like to see done by Hardy and the Carolina Panthers. |
| According to multiple people familiar with the situation, Peterson consented to being placed on the exempt-commissioner’s permission list by the Vikings while his legal case proceeds. The team announced the move in a written statement by owners Zygi and Mark Wilf released early Wednesday morning. | According to multiple people familiar with the situation, Peterson consented to being placed on the exempt-commissioner’s permission list by the Vikings while his legal case proceeds. The team announced the move in a written statement by owners Zygi and Mark Wilf released early Wednesday morning. |
| “This requires [the player’s] consent,” one of those people with knowledge of the deliberations said. | “This requires [the player’s] consent,” one of those people with knowledge of the deliberations said. |
| The NFL, the Panthers and Hardy were in discussions Wednesday about the possibility of Hardy being placed on the same playing-status list, according to a person familiar with the situation. | The NFL, the Panthers and Hardy were in discussions Wednesday about the possibility of Hardy being placed on the same playing-status list, according to a person familiar with the situation. |
| Peterson is to be paid not to play while on the exempt list, just as he was paid not to play when the Vikings de-activated him from their game last weekend after he was indicted in Texas on charges related to him disciplining his 4-year-old son by hitting the child with a switch. | Peterson is to be paid not to play while on the exempt list, just as he was paid not to play when the Vikings de-activated him from their game last weekend after he was indicted in Texas on charges related to him disciplining his 4-year-old son by hitting the child with a switch. |
| The NFL Players Association issued a written statement that said: “Adrian Peterson made a decision to take a voluntary leave with pay to take care of his personal and legal issues. The NFLPA and NFL worked with Adrian and the Minnesota Vikings to resolve this unique situation. We support this decision and hope the best for him and his family.” | The NFL Players Association issued a written statement that said: “Adrian Peterson made a decision to take a voluntary leave with pay to take care of his personal and legal issues. The NFLPA and NFL worked with Adrian and the Minnesota Vikings to resolve this unique situation. We support this decision and hope the best for him and his family.” |
| The Vikings had announced Monday that Peterson would be, in effect, reinstated; he would practice this week and was expected to play this weekend, the team said then. That move served to intensify the already considerable criticism that the team and the league were facing in the aftermath of the Ray Rice case and with Hardy’s playing status in Carolina still unresolved. | The Vikings had announced Monday that Peterson would be, in effect, reinstated; he would practice this week and was expected to play this weekend, the team said then. That move served to intensify the already considerable criticism that the team and the league were facing in the aftermath of the Ray Rice case and with Hardy’s playing status in Carolina still unresolved. |
| Politicians weighed in. Minnesota’s governor, Mark Dayton, called for the Vikings to suspend Peterson. Sponsors issued increasingly threatening-sounding statements. One business partner, Radisson, suspended its sponsorship of the Vikings. A big-money NFL sponsor, Anheuser-Busch, made its displeasure with the way the league was conducting its business known. | Politicians weighed in. Minnesota’s governor, Mark Dayton, called for the Vikings to suspend Peterson. Sponsors issued increasingly threatening-sounding statements. One business partner, Radisson, suspended its sponsorship of the Vikings. A big-money NFL sponsor, Anheuser-Busch, made its displeasure with the way the league was conducting its business known. |
| In situations such as these, teams and the league must weigh a player’s right to due process — his presumption of innocence until being found guilty in court — against the pressure being applied to act immediately, or any notion that acting immediately indeed is the right thing to do. In this case, it became increasingly clear that the ever-mounting public pressure was overwhelming and something had to be done well before Peterson has his day in court. | In situations such as these, teams and the league must weigh a player’s right to due process — his presumption of innocence until being found guilty in court — against the pressure being applied to act immediately, or any notion that acting immediately indeed is the right thing to do. In this case, it became increasingly clear that the ever-mounting public pressure was overwhelming and something had to be done well before Peterson has his day in court. |
| Hardy, however, has already had his day in court, found guilty by a judge of assaulting and threatening his former girlfriend. But the Panthers player has exercised his right to appeal via a jury trial and is waiting for that date. The Panthers allowed him to play in their opening game but, after last week’s developments around the league, abruptly reversed course Sunday and de-activated him from that afternoon’s game. Hardy was paid $771,529 — or one-17th of his $13.116 million salary for the season — not to play Sunday. | Hardy, however, has already had his day in court, found guilty by a judge of assaulting and threatening his former girlfriend. But the Panthers player has exercised his right to appeal via a jury trial and is waiting for that date. The Panthers allowed him to play in their opening game but, after last week’s developments around the league, abruptly reversed course Sunday and de-activated him from that afternoon’s game. Hardy was paid $771,529 — or one-17th of his $13.116 million salary for the season — not to play Sunday. |
| With the placement of Peterson on the exempt list, the blueprint for what the NFL would like to see done in the short term is clear, but the future remains murkier. The league is reviewing Peterson’s case under its personal conduct policy. That review is said to fall under the purview of Lisa Friel, one of the NFL’s newly hired advisers on domestic violence issues who served as the head of the sex crimes prosecution unit in the New York County district attorney’s office for more than a decade. Such league reviews must be done carefully, particularly given the scrutiny with which any NFL decisions will be met in the wake of the handling of Rice’s suspension for his domestic violence incident. | With the placement of Peterson on the exempt list, the blueprint for what the NFL would like to see done in the short term is clear, but the future remains murkier. The league is reviewing Peterson’s case under its personal conduct policy. That review is said to fall under the purview of Lisa Friel, one of the NFL’s newly hired advisers on domestic violence issues who served as the head of the sex crimes prosecution unit in the New York County district attorney’s office for more than a decade. Such league reviews must be done carefully, particularly given the scrutiny with which any NFL decisions will be met in the wake of the handling of Rice’s suspension for his domestic violence incident. |
| It was unthinkable to many in the sport that the Vikings might release Peterson, one of the NFL’s biggest on-field standouts, the way the Baltimore Ravens cut their ties with Rice last week after TMZ released video showing him striking Janay Palmer, then his fiancée and now his wife, inside an Atlantic City hotel elevator in February. | It was unthinkable to many in the sport that the Vikings might release Peterson, one of the NFL’s biggest on-field standouts, the way the Baltimore Ravens cut their ties with Rice last week after TMZ released video showing him striking Janay Palmer, then his fiancée and now his wife, inside an Atlantic City hotel elevator in February. |
| Short of that, the Vikings’ options were limited by the sport’s collective bargaining agreement. Under the CBA, a franchise can suspend a player without pay for up to four games for conduct detrimental to the team, but not longer. The four-game limit also applies to deactivating a player with pay. That provision is thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles once sending home Terrell Owens and paying him not to play, an approach initially upheld by an arbitrator but later expressly prohibited by the labor deal between the league and players’ union. | Short of that, the Vikings’ options were limited by the sport’s collective bargaining agreement. Under the CBA, a franchise can suspend a player without pay for up to four games for conduct detrimental to the team, but not longer. The four-game limit also applies to deactivating a player with pay. That provision is thanks to the Philadelphia Eagles once sending home Terrell Owens and paying him not to play, an approach initially upheld by an arbitrator but later expressly prohibited by the labor deal between the league and players’ union. |
| So Peterson had to agree to being told by the Vikings to stay away and not play for more than three more games, and he did. He continues to collect his $691,176-per-game salary (one-17th of his annual salary of $11.75 million) from the Vikings while on the exempt list. And everyone waits to see what comes next, both in court and in the court of public opinion. | So Peterson had to agree to being told by the Vikings to stay away and not play for more than three more games, and he did. He continues to collect his $691,176-per-game salary (one-17th of his annual salary of $11.75 million) from the Vikings while on the exempt list. And everyone waits to see what comes next, both in court and in the court of public opinion. |
| The fallout from the Rice, Peterson and Hardy cases made last week perhaps the worst week in NFL history. Commissioner Roger Goodell seems to know what is at stake. He is said to be working virtually around the clock on these issues. He spent Sunday in the office, skipping a trip to San Francisco for the 49ers-Bears game, and has been there until late at night as well. The NFL’s carefully polished image has been tarnished considerably. Now the issue is how long-lasting and how irreversible the damage is. | The fallout from the Rice, Peterson and Hardy cases made last week perhaps the worst week in NFL history. Commissioner Roger Goodell seems to know what is at stake. He is said to be working virtually around the clock on these issues. He spent Sunday in the office, skipping a trip to San Francisco for the 49ers-Bears game, and has been there until late at night as well. The NFL’s carefully polished image has been tarnished considerably. Now the issue is how long-lasting and how irreversible the damage is. |
| People familiar with the thinking of NFL owners have said the owners as a group remain staunchly supportive of Goodell but would consider ousting him, feeling they would have no other choice, if the report delivered by league investigator Robert S. Mueller III, the former FBI director, finds Goodell guilty of willful and egregious misconduct in the handling of the Rice case. But that is not the only means by which Goodell’s job potentially could be in jeopardy. The other scenario by which Goodell might become dispensable to the owners is if the league’s handling of these cases begins to threaten the NFL’s prosperity, with more and more sponsors walking away. Goodell and the NFL now are acting to try to keep that from happening. | People familiar with the thinking of NFL owners have said the owners as a group remain staunchly supportive of Goodell but would consider ousting him, feeling they would have no other choice, if the report delivered by league investigator Robert S. Mueller III, the former FBI director, finds Goodell guilty of willful and egregious misconduct in the handling of the Rice case. But that is not the only means by which Goodell’s job potentially could be in jeopardy. The other scenario by which Goodell might become dispensable to the owners is if the league’s handling of these cases begins to threaten the NFL’s prosperity, with more and more sponsors walking away. Goodell and the NFL now are acting to try to keep that from happening. |
| Around the NFL | Around the NFL |
| Week 3 Power Rankings: Broncos take over top spot | Week 3 Power Rankings: Broncos take over top spot |
| First & 10: Injuries make NFL’s bad week worse | First & 10: Injuries make NFL’s bad week worse |
| Trade value of RGIII still ‘significant’ | Trade value of RGIII still ‘significant’ |
| Fancy Stats power rankings: Panthers No. 1 | Fancy Stats power rankings: Panthers No. 1 |
| Peterson, Hardy cases pit players’ rights vs. team interests | Peterson, Hardy cases pit players’ rights vs. team interests |
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