There It Is

Former NFL executive vice president of labor relations Harold Henderson finally made his decision on Adrian Peterson's appeal of his suspension.

"I conclude that the player has not demonstrated that the process and procedures surrounding his discipline were not fair and consistent; He was afforded all the protections and rights to which he is entitled, and I find no basis to vacate or reduce the discipline."
     -Harold Henderson

Actually, there was very little fair with Peterson's discipline. There was absolutely nothing consistent with that discipline. There hasn't been a damn bit of consistency in the NFL offices for months. Maybe years. It took Henderson eight days to come up with that. Actually, the his entire statement was 8.5 pages that essentially parroted everything that Commissioner Roger Goodell has spewed since September.

"The facts in this appeal are uncontested."
     -Henderson

Actually, they were contested. That's why there was an appeal. The problem was that it was heard by a Goodell puppet.

"His public comments do not reflect remorse or appreciation for the seriousness of his actions and their impact on his family, community, fans and the NFL, although at the close of the hearing he said he has learned from his mistake, he regrets that it happened and it will never happen again."
     -Henderson

Goodell also saw fit to question Peterson's remorse. Despite Goodell's belief that he's all-knowing, all-seeing, he hasn't a clue as to the level of remorse that Peterson may or may not feel. Now, Henderson demands that Peterson has to express that remorse in public. If the judge and jury of the NFL had paid attention, Peterson did express remorse the moment that he realized the injuries that he'd inflicted upon his son. He immediately contacted the child's mother and expressed that remorse. But, that doesn't really fit into the NFL's script. Peterson didn't make any public comments, remorseful or otherwise, once the judicial system stepped into the picture. He waited until his case was settled before he made any public comments. It's an absolute mystery as to why Goodell, Henderson, whoever expected Peterson to express public remorse before then. The child's mother expressed to the NFL that she wants Peterson in the child's life. She likely knows Peterson's level of remorse far better than anyone in those Park Avenue offices. She has also stated that the NFL's punishment of Peterson has been far more than enough.

One of Peterson's and the NFLPA's major appeal points was the NFL's use of Goodell's revised Conduct Policy in disciplining Peterson. Goodell revised the policy after he'd hacked up the Ray Rice case. That was three months after Peterson committed the act for which he was disciplined. Basically, the NFL was making up the discipline process as Peterson was proceeding through it. Pretty convenient. Henderson used similar self-serving logic to explain away Peterson's appeal.

"I reject the argument that placement in Commissioner Exempt status is discipline."
     -Henderson

It's absolutely mind-numbing that the NFL maintains that prohibiting a football player from playing in a football game, with pay, isn't discipline. Football isn't an office job. Football players want to play football. They want to play the game so badly that they'll risk severe personal injury every single week to do so. They'll even play an NFL-forced two games in a single week at least once every year. Adrian Peterson has now missed twelve football games. That's a significant part of his entire NFL career. For a running back that had his sights on Emmitt Smith's career rushing record, this is a devastating penalty. Simple common sense would see this as discipline and not a paid vacation.

As it stands now, Adrian Peterson will remain suspended until April 15, 2015. At that time, his case will be reviewed by Goodell, of course. If Peterson has stayed on the straight and narrow, done his counseling, and been a good boy, he'll be reinstated. He'll be penalized three game checks but he'll be allowed to return to the Minnesota Vikings. He will once again step on an NFL field for an NFL game at the start of the 2015 season. The total penalty will amount to 15 games and over $4 million in fines. Pretty steep. No NFL player has ever faced a steeper penalty for a first time offense that didn't involve gambling.

Through all of this, I've wondered what the Goodell-enforced penalty would be for a player that did absolutely nothing to support his child. A father that wasn't there, provided nothing, completely absent in the child's life. In my opinion, that's a far greater form of abuse than anything that Peterson did on that day in May. He cared enough about his son to be with him, support him, and discipline him. He disciplined his son in the manner that he knew.