Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson and What’s Next

Oct 8, 2014; Conroe, TX, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson enters the Montgomery county courthouse for his arraignment. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Before I get too far, I will start by saying this; Yes I want to see Adrian Peterson play for the Vikings again this season but no, I do not condone what he did. Punishing his son the way he did was wrong. Although I can never know for sure, I don’t believe Peterson to be evil but instead misguided and out of touch. I have no doubt that Adrian was punished in a similar fashion growing up. I also have no doubt that there is no place in today’s society for switches, whether one grew up in that culture or not.

Now that the legal system is finished with him, where do we go from here? Before anything happens, Commissioner Roger Goodell must act, because he placed Peterson on the “Commissioner’s List” which no one knew existed before this case. His choices seem to be as follows:

• Reinstate him but retroactively fine him for 6 of the games he missed. Peterson has been paid in full for his time away, and the agreed upon punishment for first time domestic violence perpetrators is 6 games.
• Reinstate him, but suspend him for 6 games.
• Reinstate him but suspend him indefinitely.

Option one makes the most sense to me, as he has already sat out eight games. Option two could be on the table since he has not actually been suspended at all yet. Option three would give Goodell more time to figure out what he wants to do, but seems like it would invite the Player’s Union to fight him on it. What is the point of having a standard if it is not followed.

The big monkey wrench in all of this is that after the massive fallout from the Ray Rice case, the NFL seems to be making up the rules as they go along. Rice was suspended indefinitely, so based on that standard, or lack-thereof, it is feasible that the Commissioner could tell Peterson to take his ball and go home until Goodell decides that he can come back.

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The problem many people, including myself, have with the NFL’s discipline is that it never seems to follow any rhyme or reason. The point of having collectively bargained agreements is to have uniform policies to govern issues as they arise. This is a major issue and it needs to be dealt with. In a utopian NFL, the guidelines would be so clear that Goodell would have no choice, and the punishment would be laid out perfectly in black and white. That is not to say this mess is entirely the league’s fault. It is impossible to create iron-clad guidelines in black and white when there are so many cases (including this one) shaded in gray. Regardless, Adrian Peterson, the player’s union, the Vikings and the fans need to have an answer soon.

My hope is Goodell hits Peterson in the pocketbook but allows him to play again this year. That would be the closest option out there to going by the book. My fear though is that after getting filleted over the Rice situation, Goodell will choose to napalm Peterson. Other than the horrific act itself, the main reason so many people lost their minds about Rice was the original two game suspension. The problem is, that was technically correct according to the rules at the time. After the uproar, that was changed to six, then Rice was suspended indefinitely anyway. Another complication is the marijuana admission Peterson made before his case was settled. Will more games be tacked on to a possible suspension for a recreational drug use offense?

The only good news is, this has to be settled one way or another now. Right?