Let's go ahead and chalk up the Adrian Peterson suspension as another mistake for the NFL as it tries to police its own league.
The NFL suspended Peterson after the completion of his court case involving him injuring his 4-year-old son with a switch. On Thursday a federal judge said the NFL arbitrator who made that suspension decision overstepped his authority and applied the NFL's new conduct policy retroactively to Peterson's case, so he overturned the suspension. The Star-Tribune said Judge David Doty sent "the case back for further arbitration proceedings 'consistent with' the players’ collective bargaining agreement." The NFL said it is reviewing the ruling, and hasn't yet said whether it will reinstate Peterson, appeal or arbitrate again.
According to Doty's order (via the Star-Tribune), Peterson and the NFL agreed in writing on Sept. 18 that he would be put on the commissioner's exempt list until his court case was resolved. Peterson pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault in November. The NFL called a disciplinary hearing for Peterson, keeping him on the exempt list in the interim, and Peterson didn't show up because the NFL Players Association was upset about the process and that the league wasn't honoring what the union said was an agreement to reinstate him.
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