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Vikings Weigh Impact Of Playing Peterson If Goodell Opts For His Reinstatement

The NFL is not going to "rush to judgment," but rather "take their time" before deciding when Vikings RB Adrian Peterson can return to the field, according to SI's Don Banks. NFL officials "obviously want to send the signal they take this seriously." However, Banks said, "They might very well turn to the club and say back channel, ‘What do you want to do, Vikings? Can you bring him back this year? Can you put him back in the locker room? Will your sponsors be okay if he’s back on the field?’” The NFL may attempt to let the “club lead a little bit in terms of what comes next.” SI’s Amani Toomer said the “only difference in the situation now is they’re not going to have to pull him off the field for legal troubles.” But he added, “You’re definitely going to have to ask the sponsors. Obviously the sponsors are running things, because that’s who ultimately pulled him off the field originally.” SI’s Andrew Perloff said he has heard that "morale in the NFL offices is low" and league execs are "really scared of sponsors." Perloff: "It limits kind of what they can do in a big picture way. They have a lot community-oriented events and now a lot of those are in danger by this image." He added. "In the league office, I’ve heard it comes up every day. It’s a tense place, so maybe they will overreact” (“Pro Football Now,” SI.com, 11/5).

WAIT AND SEE APPROACH: In Minneapolis, Matt Vensel reports the Vikings "continue to have internal discussions" about whether Peterson "should be allowed to play this season as they await word from the NFL about his status." Only NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "can reinstate Peterson from the commissioner's exempt list." Goodell "typically requests players in high-profile disciplinary cases meet with him in person before doling out punishment," but it "is unclear if such a meeting has been scheduled with Peterson." An NFL spokesperson yesterday in a statement said that the league "has set no timetable for a resolution as it reviews Peterson's court records" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/6). Also in Minneapolis, Jim Souhan writes Goodell "can and should suspend Peterson for the rest of the season." Doing so "would improve Goodell’s reputation, and save the Vikings and the league a lot of grief." He can "establish that he has higher standards than the anachronistic Texas courts, that he holds players, and especially players who have gotten rich because of the NFL’s remarkable wealth, to a higher standard than the average citizen." If Goodell ruled that Peterson could return to the field immediately, the Vikings' football operations side "would undoubtedly want to reinstate him." But Vikings co-Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf "would face the more difficult decision" of whether the "possibility of winning an extra game or two would be worth angering sponsors and fans, would be worth holding nationally televised news conferences at which reporters would shout angry questions to which there are no palatable answers" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/6). In Oklahoma City, Berry Tramel writes immediate reinstatement "would not be the best thing for Peterson." A few more games, or the rest of the season, "would drive home the point that what Peterson did was not acceptable, despite the plea agreement" (OKLAHOMAN, 11/6).

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