Adrian Peterson’s NFL future remained murky Thursday, even after the Vikings’ star running back had his suspension overturned by a federal judge.
It initially appeared Peterson would be reinstated immediately after U.S. District Judge David Doty granted a motion by the NFL Players Association to vacate the suspension imposed by an arbitrator last November for Peterson’s no-contest plea to child abuse.
But the NFL responded Thursday night by appealing Doty’s order to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals and announcing Peterson had been returned to the Commissioner’s Exempt List, where he spent nine games last fall after being indicted in Texas.
Doty ruled that arbitrator Harold Henderson exceeded his authority by suspending Peterson because the league essentially was punishing him for violating a personal conduct policy that wasn’t in place when Peterson was charged last September in Texas.
But a closer look at Doty’s ruling showed he merely had sent the case back to the arbitration process, where Henderson — a former NFL executive — could suspend Peterson all over again if the league feels like an extended legal battle is worth it.
“We believe strongly that Judge Doty’s order is incorrect and fundamentally at odds with well-established legal precedent governing the district court’s role in reviewing arbitration decisions,” the NFL said in a statement.
The union hailed Doty’s decision vacating the suspension that was scheduled to run through at least April 15 as a “victory for the rule of law, due process and fairness.”
“Our collective bargaining agreement has rules for implementation of the personal conduct policy and when those rules are violated, [and] our union always stands up to protect our players’ rights,” the NFLPA said in a statement. “This is yet another example why neutral arbitration is good for our players, good for the owners and good for our game.”
A league source familiar with the Vikings’ thinking said the team wants to keep Peterson and has no intention of trading him or releasing him when his suspension is lifted.
“Adrian Peterson is an important member of the Minnesota Vikings, and our focus remains on welcoming him back when he is able to rejoin our organization,” the Vikings said in a statement Thursday night.
But it remains to be seen if Peterson wants to go back to Minnesota. The veteran back told ESPN last week that he is “still uneasy” about returning to the Vikings because he feels they encouraged the NFL to put him on the paid Commissioner’s Exempt List before his official suspension.
Peterson’s agent also reportedly got into a nose-to-nose shouting match with a Vikings senior executive at the scouting combine in Indianapolis last week in which the agent, Ben Dogra, is said to have insisted Peterson never again would play for the Vikings.
