Ruling favors Vikings' Peterson, sets up reinstatement

[Lady Steel]

A federal judge has opened the door for faster reinstatement of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, ruling an NFL arbitrator “failed to meet his duty” in a child abuse case that brought national backlash for the league and widened its rift with the players' union.

This was the second high-profile defeat in the last six months for commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL, that case concerning punishment for former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge David Doty overruled NFL arbitrator Harold Henderson's December denial of Peterson's appeal. Doty said the league cannot retroactively apply the standards of its new, tougher personal conduct policy to an action by Peterson that occurred before the policy was in place.

The league suspended Peterson through at least April 15 under the new standard, which arose from the furor over the handling of the assault involving Rice. But Doty said in his 16-page ruling that Henderson “simply disregarded the law of the shop and in doing so failed to meet his duty” under the collective bargaining agreement.

NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith said in a statement Doty's decision was a “victory for the rule of law, due process and fairness.”




http://triblive.com/sports/nfl/78611...#axzz3StuTYWv7

[fansince'76]

This was the second high-profile defeat in the last six months for commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL...

Rice and Peterson are both scumbags, but this is what happens when you misuse policy to try and cover your ass after you (rightly) draw heat in the media for fucking things up in the first place. If they would have dropped the hammer on Rice and Peterson from the get-go instead of giving them a slap on the wrist, chances are none of this would have happened.

[86WARD]

Hardy is looking for reinstatement now as well...lol.

[st33lersguy]

]

Rice and Peterson are both scumbags, but this is what happens when you misuse policy to try and cover your ass after you (rightly) draw heat in the media for fucking things up in the first place. If they would have dropped the hammer on Rice and Peterson from the get-go instead of giving them a slap on the wrist, chances are none of this would have happened.[/FONT][/COLOR]

This is the best way to put it