Adrian Peterson saga

[SayOw]

And this goes back to my original thought that AP may never play football again...

The NFL (Goodell) is doing a total knee-jerk reaction to the situation because of the way the Ray Rice situation played out. There is no way that Goodell wants the NFL to be seen as an organization that will allow abuse to be tolerated in any way...any more.

You can tell that Rog has assembled a better group of "crisis managers" than what he previously employed by the reading of the statement for the punishment.

And, to their credit and Peterson's discredit, they are using many of Peterson's own comments and actions as rationale for the punishment.

Peterson will almost assuredly appeal the suspension but that is still no guarantee he plays again this season.

Talk has increased at how much money the Vikings could save by trading or flat out releasing AP before next season...

[SiteWolf]

Goodell has used Adrian's own comments....from 2 months ago...and put them out there like nothing has transpired since that time or like Adrian just said them yesterday.

He is also trying to use a new term to try and infer this case doesn't fall under his own updated domestic violence policy.

He may appeal, but there's not even assurance that this would give the Vikings the option to activate him during the appeal.....and the most likely is that the league has told them not to anyway.

[SayOw]

Question: Has Adrian taken any child mistreatment classes? Or volunteered to join any parenting programs? I know one way to ingratiate yourself is to be proactive about your cause rather than simply do the minimum when it is mandated to you.

If AP wanted to bolster his case to get on the field faster, he should have came to the hearing with a pile of papers stating that he is currently in counseling, he is working with kids and he is taking steps to become a better parent to his children...all without being required to do so.

But if he is simply sitting back and going to do the minimum that the courts demand from him, then what assurances does the NFL have that he has corrected his behavior?

[SiteWolf]

From what I know he started taking parenting classes soon after the initial arrest...voluntarily I don't know.

Even people in the media are still misstating what I believe is true regarding the (what some are still saying skipped meeting when it was a pre-hearing meeting he hadn't agreed to because he'd requested a conversation with Goodell on process, which Goodell ignored).

Goodell is also pulling out comments AP made 2 months ago and making it sound like they were just said...giving no credence to AP's CURRENT mindset on what he did. It bothers me, too, that Goodell and others talk like it's just automatic that 'in this day and age people should know this is wrong'....well, there's a significant portion of the nation, including a large part of the south, that does NOT view physical discipline as wrong. Yet apparently that doesn't matter OR it's considered OK as long as you don't go over MY threshold...then you're a criminal scumbag. THAT bothers me as much as anything.

And to further Goodell's assumption that he can change the rules as he goes, the information the arbitrator got was just enough to somehow allow the league to put AP on two lists...don't know that anyone has ever been on two lists...but the arbitrator is allowing the league to keep him on the exempt list even while being suspends..odd given, among other things, one is paid the other is not.

I see a fan that's about to be inundated with excrement.

[SayOw]

Hindsight is 20/20...but I think in the end, the result would be about the same regardless of which path AP chose once charged.

If he would have fought the charges and proven innocent on all counts, he would have certainly missed this entire season and if he got lucky, may have had the legal process end in time for next season to start. If he was proven innocent, would the NFL have to reinstate him? And if he was reinstated, would any team sign him? Part of the reason AP avoided a jury trial was to prevent the images and testimony about what he did to his child from entering public record. Goodell could attempt to apply the same punishment then as he is now with the same logic...but I think in front of a neutral arbitrator, if AP was found innocent he would have to be allowed to play...but again, would any team even dare sign him?

And I'm sorry O, I have to disagree with the logic that because some people of this country are ok with physical discipline absolves AP of any wrongdoing. IMO, its wrong to beat kids no matter where you are from.

[SiteWolf]

don't get me wrong, I have never intended to say he was not deserving of some punishment.....I've just never thought there was reason his entire life and career should be turning him into persona non grata

what either of us think of physical discipline may impact how we view the incident, but this incident happened in a state that still allows it

[bballjer44]

Originally Posted by SiteWolf

don't get me wrong, I have never intended to say he was not deserving of some punishment.....I've just never thought there was reason his entire life and career should be turning him into persona non grata

what either of us think of physical discipline may impact how we view the incident, but this incident happened in a state that still allows it

How can physical discipline of a 4 year old be defended?!
Pictures released by Houston police make me sick! 4 years old!!!
And from what I have read Petersen still does not see what was wrong with what he did.
I do think he deserves a way back in. But what I have read is the NFL does not think he has shown genuine remorse.
He also must be getting bad advise, probably from lawyers.

[SiteWolf]

maybe I have purple goggles on, I don't know

for me it's not a matter of defending, it's the feeling that he's been treated like he committed a capital offense.........those pictures were released illegally by an officer severely reprimanded..and it was TMZ that made them public...so who knows if they altered them..even just changing the contrast makes those wounds stand out more....maybe the pics weren't altered at all...

Goodell, tho, included comments AP made 2 months ago, the day he was released on bond while still wrapping his head around it all....only Goodell made it sound like he just made those comments yesterday........he's had parenting classes and counseling over the past 2 months...

NFLPA MAY be using AP as their platform rather than acting in his best interest, I don't know...I do know Goodell has driven a large wedge between them in his handling.

More recent comments by AP:
"I have learned a lot and have had to reevaluate how I discipline my son going forward," Peterson said in the statement. "But deep in my heart I have always believed I could have been one of those kids that was lost in the streets without the discipline instilled in me by my parents and other relatives. I have always believed that the way my parents disciplined me has a great deal to do with the success I have enjoyed as a man. I love my son and I will continue to become a better parent and learn from any mistakes I ever make.

I have to live with the fact that when I disciplined my son the way I was disciplined as a child, I caused an injury that I never intended or thought would happen. I know that many people disagree with the way I disciplined my child. I also understand after meeting with a psychologist that there are other alternative ways of disciplining a child that may be more appropriate.

"I am not a perfect son. I am not a perfect husband. I am not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser. I am someone that disciplined his child and did not intend to cause him any injury. No one can understand the hurt that I feel for my son and for the harm I caused him. My goal is always to teach my son right from wrong and that's what I tried to do that day."

I accept the fact that people feel very strongly about this issue and what they think about my conduct. Regardless of what others think, however, I love my son very much and I will continue to try to become a better father and person.

[SayOw]

Peterson loses appeal.

Not a big surprise since the arbiter was a Goodell appointed drone.

All but guarantees he won't be playing football this season.

The end of the article kind of spells out AP's situation going forward...

According to league sources, it's not that Peterson doesn't want to play for his coaches or teammates – quite the contrary. But the running back and his family are now questioning whether the state and city he plays in can still stand behind him, following an outpouring of fan and media negativity surrounding his personal life.

Once those emotions are resolved, if Peterson wants a trade he is going to push the issue and then wait a long four months, maybe longer. That gives the Vikings this upper hand: If they want to deal him, those conversations can be held now and consummated later.

But if Minnesota wants to keep Peterson, it can simply tell him no trade will happen, tune out other teams, and then let his options wither away until there is no compelling offer to be had when he's reinstated.

Either way, his future is in a tough spot now. Peterson's loss Friday was more than just lost games and lost wages. In a way, his career lost freedom going forward, too. And the ramifications of that could stretch far longer than April.

[yon Beast]

Thanks you SayOw!

This has turned into the travesty of the year, imo
Can you even imagine how the kid feels?

[SiteWolf]

I have to say...I don't get irritated easy, but this has irritated me greatly.

rant

It's long past an issue of whether Adrian did anything wrong. He did, but NOTHING to the extent some people talk like. Here's a guy almost EVERYone (including those now calling him scum) felt had been one of the most humble superstars in pro sports, a guy who has seen more tragedy in his life than most, from watching his brother get killed right in front of him by a car while they played when he was 8, to finding out another brother was murdered while he was training for the NFL combine, in between seeing his father go to prison....to most recently finding out a son he hadn't even known about was murdered. He wins the MVP after rushing for over 2000 yards the year after blowing out his knee and is considered possibly the best in the league and one of the best ever.

Then it comes out that he got a bit carried away disciplining his child, a child who hadn't had a regular father figure in his life, a child who was attempting to smother his brother at the time Adrian disciplined him (which the media conveniently never brings up). Did he overstep? Of course, at least it appears so by those photos. But those photos were also released to the public by TMZ...you change the contrast on photos like that and those wounds appear worse than they were. Even if you want to believe they were exactly what they appeared, the media continually tries to make them sound even worse....and it was illegal that we even saw them at ALL...a law written not to protect the accused, but to protect the child.

However NONE of that really has been the issue during this appeal process. This process has been about labor law and the mutually agreed upon collective bargaining agreement. At the time of the incident, the penalty for what Adrian did, according to the result of his trial, warranted a 2 game penalty. Two. A recorded conversation with Troy Vincent telling Adrian 'time served' would be considered....a conversation that was ignored followed by Vincent lashing out at the union about not caring about the victims when that has nothing to do with the appeal.

And my 'favorite' part....the independent arbitrator assigned to the appeal is a former league executive...like he was going to be unbiased. Since the hearing ended, however, he was suggesting there be a settlement and inferred it was the league that should want that, yet when they didn't he still fully sided with them.

The result being the Vikings get to have paid him not just during his time on the exempt list, but also the past 3 weeks since the original punishment came down when somehow he was left on the exempt list until the appeal process completed, and the league, even tho they have continually considered 'time served' at least during an appeal process, will not in this case.

So as of the moment, he will not only miss the entire 2014 season, but since the league is saying his 6 game suspension only starts this week, he'll also miss the 1st 3 games of 2015 as well.....and the league believes they can not only do that but not even talk about reinstatement until a month into the free agency period.

And people talk like his talk of retiring is a 'threat' and talk of a law suit is bogus. Unless there is more language giving the league more wiggle room than has ever been discussed in prior cases, the league is greatly overstepping legally agreed upon policy on how these labor situations should be resolved...and the league is attempting to make the union appear unsympathetic towards victims of abuse to push it through.

Yes, I'm a Vikings fan. Yes, Adrian has been one of my favorite players ever. So yes, I'm not unbiased either. But punishing Adrian FAR more than ANY other player has been punished...for something a large percentage of people understand happened with no malicious intent whatsoever, contrary to what someone like Ray Rice did....is simply ridiculous. Anything Adrian attempts to do legally will be put out there as 'a further act lacking contrition' even tho he has apologized for what he did more than once. What more can the guy actually do? Regardless of what he does now, the media and many fans will find fault with it. And if he retires? There will be many who will say 'good riddance'....to one of the best running backs and (whether you choose to believe this or not) one of the nicest guys in pro sports.

/rant

[SayOw]

I agree with much of what you are saying O ...

But also note that the recorded conversation with Troy Vincent was also done illegally...

[SiteWolf]

Originally Posted by SayOw

I agree with much of what you are saying O ...

But also note that the recorded conversation with Troy Vincent was also done illegally...

was it? from what I read, in Texas (where the call originated) both parties are not required to know the conversation is being recorded....but I haven't read the result of that from the hearing

[SayOw]

NFLPA suing NFL, seeks Peterson's immediate reinstatement.

[thunder gulch]

I agree with the O rant.

Here's the other thing nobody brings up. How is it the best interest of the child (and siblings) that the father is barred from being employed at what he does best, something that very few can do at such a high level - at a VERY high salary?

TG