The NFL is "nearing a decision about potential disciplinary action" against Vikings RB Adrian Peterson, and the league's review of Peterson’s case under the sport’s personal conduct policy "could be completed" today or tomorrow, according to sources cited by Mark Maske of the WASHINGTON POST. One source said a decision about Peterson’s playing status is expected “soon.” The source added the NFL suspending Peterson is “very possible.” Maske notes the NFLPA has "filed a grievance on Peterson’s behalf seeking to have him reinstated from the exempt list pending the outcome of the league’s review under the personal conduct policy." A hearing on the grievance is "scheduled to be conducted Monday afternoon by conference call" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/17). Arbitrator Shyam Das will hear Peterson's grievance, and in N.Y., Ken Belson notes even if Das "decides that Peterson should be reinstated because his criminal case has been resolved, the NFL may still punish him beyond the nine-game suspension he has already served." It appears to be "willing to do so without feedback from Peterson." A league source said that Peterson and NFLPA reps "failed to show up for a hearing on Friday to review his case and gave no reason for their absence." Peterson in a statement yesterday said that he had "not attended the hearing because the union had told him it 'was something new and inconsistent' with common disciplinary meetings, and because the league had failed to explain the purpose of the hearing or the need for people other than NFL officials to be there." The NFL has been "scrambling to overhaul its personal conduct policy in the wake of the debate over its handling" of the Ray Rice case. Though no formal decision "has been made about whether arbitrators will be used in all future cases, it is notable that an independent arbitrator was chosen to hear Peterson’s appeal" (N.Y. TIMES, 11/17).
DECISION DAY: The MMQB's Peter King notes he expects the NFL to "issue discipline in the Peterson case today," with Peterson appealing it "immediately." King: "The league doesn't view the nine games Peterson has missed as any sort of 'time-served' punishment because he was paid during this period." The NFL "maintains it is clearly not a disciplinary sanction," but Peterson "will claim that whatever the league called his enforced paid absence, it should be over now because he's been sidelined for more than half the season" (MMQB.SI.com, 11/17). USA TODAY's Nancy Armour noted the NFL is "actually compromising the integrity of the game" by forcing Peterson to sit as Commissioner Roger Goodell tries to "get it right." Putting Peterson on the commissioner's exempt list "was the right thing to do," but the NFL "needed a plan for what happened once the case was resolved." Goodell thinking he could "lollygag until the Super Bowl to make changes to the personal conduct policy doesn't cut it." He should be "applauded for the programs the NFL has put together in the past two months to educate players, coaches and personnel about domestic abuse and sexual assault." But the NFL "can't wish away those few players who do run afoul of the law, and Goodell was naïve to assume the NFLPA would simply agree to whatever he decreed" (USATODAY.com, 11/16).
MAKING PROGRESS? SI.com's Richard Deitsch conducted an NFL media roundtable discussion, asking how the panelists would rate the NFL's handling of domestic violence since Goodell's September press conference on the issue. Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman: "They haven't done anything. They did issue a new policy, but without union backing (which they don't yet have) the policy is almost meaningless. They hired several women in key positions. That's good, but again the new policy is the key." The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram's Clarence Hill added, "On a scale from 1-10, I would give them a 6. They were at 1. So the only place to go was up." The Washington Post's Jason Reid: "Since the presser, the league has acted swiftly and decisively in handling domestic violence issues. Apparently, the specter of losing the public's confidence -- and potentially a whole lot of money -- provided an effective catalyst for change." ESPN's Adam Schefter: "It feels as if everyone is waiting to hear how Judge Barbara S. Jones rules, and what Robert Mueller comes back with in his report. But the culture still has shifted and changed, for the better. The NFL still hasn’t been put to the test." ESPN's Ed Werder: "We're seeing evidence that Roger Goodell has seriously addressed this issue, perhaps belatedly. The league is certainly handling the situations with Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson differently. There have been new hires with an emphasis on the failures in this area, a public relations campaign and, with the Peterson discipline, a chance for real proof" (SI.com, 11/16).
