U.S. District Court Judge David Doty granted the NFL Players Association's motion to vacate Adrian Peterson's suspension yesterday. At first glance it looked like Peterson's suspension was over. Technically, it wasn't. If Roger Goodell and his remaining friends were smart, it would be. Technically, Doty remanded the case "for such proceedings consistent with this order as the CBA may permit." That means it goes back to the original arbitrator Harold Henderson. Having Henderson hear the original appeal was pretty much the same as having Goodell hear the appeal. He's been an NFL executive for decades. While Doty's ruling is certainly a win for Peterson this is an even bigger win for the NFLPA. They defeated the NFL in court again. That joy didn't last long.
Upon hearing Doty's ruling, the NFL had this to say:
"We will review the decision."
They would be wise to let it go. Peterson was up for reinstatement on April 15. About six more weeks. What's six weeks when the alternative is looking like even greater fools? They should just cut their losses. Goodell has pretty much hacked up everything that he's touched since the summer. He and his puppet arbitrator Henderson were roasted in Doty's ruling. Here are a couple of samples:
Arditrator Henderson "simply disregarded the law of the shop and in doing so failed to meet his duty under the CBA."
"Henderson strayed beyond the issues submitted by the NFLPA and in doing so exceeded his authority."
Then there's this clipping straight from the ruling:
"There is no dispute that the Commissioner imposed Peterson’s discipline under the New Policy. It is also undisputed that in the Rice arbitration, the hearing officer unequivocally recognized that the New Policy cannot be applied retroactively, notwithstanding the Commissioner’s broad discretion in meting out punishment under the CBA. Consistent with that recognition, the Commissioner has acknowledged that he did not have the power to retroactively apply the New Policy: “The policy change was forward looking because the League is ‘required to provide proper notice.’”Yet, just two weeks later, the Commissioner retroactively applied the New Policy to Peterson.
In regards to Peterson's case and punishment Goodell has been making up rules as he's skipped through the league offices. He was blasted for his ridiculous punishment of Ray Rice in the Summer and he's been scrambling ever since. It was great that he came up with a new personal conduct policy. It had to be done and he did it. Even with that terrific achievement he made the stunning mistake of not including the NFLPA in the development of that policy. How do you do that? Has he lost his mind? Everything that he's done in the last several months would support it. It's very rare for a judge to overturn an arbitrator. As long as an arbitrator even "arguably" correctly applies the law, their decision nearly always stands. Meet Roger Goodell. Meet Harold Henderson. These clowns made it easy for Judge David Doty to toss out their punishment and decisions.
Mere hours after Doty's ruling, the NFL, of course, appealed that ruling to the 8th Circuit Court. This has gone beyond ridiculous. That court only has court one week per month. The March slate is scheduled. The next session is April 13-17. Peterson was scheduled to potentially come off suspension on April 15. How convenient. The NFL also returned Peterson to the Commissioner's Exempt List. He should be familiar with that list as he was on it for pretty much all of the 2014 NFL season. The good thing about the Commissioner's Exempt List as opposed to being suspended is that the Vikings and Peterson can communicate. They no longer have to communicate through the media which is as efficient and as fruitful as dealing with the NFL. There's always the chance that some agreement can be reached with Goodell's puppet arbitrator Harold Henderson before the appeal is heard. That way this mess gets settled sooner, Goodell saves a little face, and the NFL doesn't get their ass handed to them again in court.
As soon as the NFL gets out of the way, which is obviously a lot to ask, Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings can get back to football. Together! They can put their differences (real, imagined, or media-created) behind them. The sooner this ludicrous soap opera ends the better.
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