In the wake of the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson scandals, the relationship between the NFL and the NFLPA has been unsteady, to say the least. Today, things took a turn for the worse after the NFL announced Adrian Peterson's suspension from the league without pay.
Calling in to air his grievances, NFLPA director DeMaurice Smith spoke with ESPN Radio's Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, saying, "Our initial reaction is that the process that the NFL has employed since the beginning of the season has been arbitrary, inconsistent, and uneven. You get the feeling that the NFL, over the past few months, has been simply making it up as they go along. That is something that is not in the best interest of the game, the players, or the sponsors.”
Smith continued taking Goodell to task over the commissioner's course of action during the past few months: “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t sit on the sidelines and try to bully your way into something and then call it fair. You can’t make it up as you go along. I do think that, most importantly, the growing lack of confidence that our players have in our commissioner is something that the league office needs to address quickly and responsibly.”
Smith has a point. While Peterson and Rice's actions are highly condemnable, the NFL's handling of these respective situations has also been deplorable. Goodell has yet to show anyone that he's properly equipped to guide the league through these moral issues, and he may just be straight up lying to everyone about the specifics of his decision-making process for the Ray Rice fiasco.
Following his appearance on Mike & Mike in the Morning, Smith and the NFLPA also released a statement regarding Peterson's suspension:
The decision by the NFL to suspend Adrian Peterson is another example of the credibility gap that exists between the agreements they make and the actions they take. Since Adrian’s legal matter was adjudicated, the NFL has ignored their obligations and attempted to impose a new and arbitrary disciplinary proceeding.
The facts are that Adrian has asked for a meeting with Roger Goodell, the discipline imposed is inconsistent and an NFL executive told Adrian that his time on the Commissioner’s list would be considered as time served.
The NFLPA will appeal this suspension and will demand that a neutral arbitrator oversee the appeal.
We call on the NFL Management Council to show our players and our sponsors leadership by committing to collective bargaining so a fair personal conduct policy can be implemented as quickly as possible.
Peterson may be out of the game for the remainder of the 2014-15 season, but you can be sure that his situation is far from resolved.
[via The Big Lead]
