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Earlier this week, it came out that the National Football League had shot down the request for running back Adrian Peterson to be immediately reinstated. Despite the fact that the terms of the league's agreement with Peterson and the Vikings that put Peterson on the Commissioner's Exemption List called for him to be reinstated at the end of his legal case, the league. . .after a long and arduous decision-making process. . .has arbitrarily decided that Peterson will remain on the list until the league "reviews his case."
Well, now there has, apparently, been another request for Peterson's reinstatement. . .one that Roger Goodell and company might have to take a bit more seriously.
Yes, the National Football League Players Association has sent the NFL brass a letter saying that Peterson should be immediately reinstated, per Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The NFL Players Association sent a letter to the NFL on Friday, calling for the immediate reinstatement of Adrian Peterson per the agreement the sides made for the Minnesota Vikings running back to go on the commissioner's exempt list in September, according to sources.
The agreement to place Peterson on the commissioner's exempt list explicitly states that Peterson would be removed from the list upon resolution of his legal matter, sources said. Peterson plead no contest to a misdemeanor last week.
If the NFL declines to comply with the agreement, the NFLPA can then file an expedited non-injury grievance to have Peterson reinstated immediately.
Honestly, if the National Football League made an agreement with Peterson and the Vikings that he would be reinstated after his legal proceedings concluded, then they should be held to that standard. However, Roger Goodell apparently has the impression that he is judge, jury, and executioner in these matters. He's certainly making a good case for any other player that might find themselves in a similar situation in the future to tell Goodell and the league to get bent rather than cooperating in the matter.
It appears that the NFLPA is set to force the issue if Goodell does not feel compelled to hold up the league's end of the bargain. Hopefully it won't come to that, but if it does, it's nice to see that the NFLPA is prepared.
Obviously, we'll be keeping an eye on this one. As soon as we learn more, we'll have it here for you.