Nike has "terminated the contract" of Vikings RB Adrian Peterson following his assault charge, according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. Nike "suspended its contract with Peterson on Sept. 17, meaning it stopped paying him and would not consider him for use in its advertising." Peterson's no-contest plea this week to "one count of misdemeanor reckless assault on his 4-year-old son most likely gave Nike the ability to cut its deal with Peterson without any financial penalty." Peterson previously "lost endorsement deals with Castrol and EpiPen when he was brought up on charges" (ESPN.com, 11/6). CNBC contributor Jon Najarian said Nike dropping Peterson was “pretty big” because they “think this is a much bigger deal” than the misdemeanor contained in Peterson's plea deal. Najarian added, “I can see why they might want to shy away from here, more so than Tiger Woods, because one is an infidelity issue and the other is child abuse. Clearly, Nike can’t be any part of that child abuse given where they sell most of their products and who they sell it to” (“Closing Bell,” CNBC, 11/6). In Minneapolis, Michael Rand wrote the move was "probably the logical conclusion based on Nike’s action in September, but it does reinforce that everything isn’t just back to 'normal' now that Peterson’s legal proceedings are resolved" (STARTRIBUNE.com, 11/6).
RETURNING TO THE FIELD? In Minneapolis, Matt Vensel notes the NFL "advised Peterson on Thursday that he will be reviewed for potential discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy after he entered into a plea agreement on Tuesday." In the meantime, Peterson "remains on the commissioner's exempt list," keeping his status for the Week 11 game against the Bears -- and "potentially the rest of the 2014 season -- in doubt." Peterson will "get an opportunity to have a hearing with the NFL before any discipline is handed down." The NFLPA "released a statement saying it would react if it felt Peterson's case was being handled differently from other such cases." The NFL has "not provided a timetable for a decision." However, it "appears the league, which was also dealing with an appeals hearing" for Ray Rice on Wednesday and Thursday, "is in no rush" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 11/7). In St. Paul, Brian Murphy notes the dueling NFL and NFLPA statements "staked early positions in what portends to be a protracted legal battle between Goodell and Peterson during a time of heightened public scrutiny of how the NFL disciplines its players" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 11/7). ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said the NFL “ought to have a total of a week” to determine Peterson's status, but he believes the league is "going to drag its feet for weeks, and I do mean weeks." Wilbon: "Adrian Peterson is now radioactive. ... Nike has dropped him, they don't want him anymore. I think the NFL is going to use this opportunity to stay out of the way of any potential public outrage and just take three, four weeks, maybe the rest of the season, not tell Adrian Peterson anything.” ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said, “I wonder if the Vikings haven't said to the NFL, ‘You know what, give us some time here. We're not sure that we want him and we don't want to have to release him and somebody else to pick him up because we paid him all year so far. Don't hurt us this way.’ So maybe that would be a delay" (“PTI,” ESPN, 11/6).
