Recorded Phone Call Reveals NFL Executive Troy Vincent Told Adrian Peterson He Would Only Receive a Two-Game Suspension

On Friday afternoon, the appeal that Adrian Peterson filed against the NFL in November after they handed him an indefinite suspension for accepting a plea deal in his child abuse case in Texas was denied. So the Vikings running back will not be eligible to play in the NFL until at least next season. But that doesn't mean that Peterson is going to sit quietly on the sideline and simply allow his suspension to play out.

Instead, Peterson is expected to take his fight against the NFL to the federal level by filing a lawsuit against the league in an attempt to gain reinstatement as soon as possible. And a phone conversation between Peterson and NFL executive Troy Vincent that was recorded by Peterson's lawyer last month could play a key role in helping Peterson to get back on to the football field sooner than later.

In the taped conversation—which was obtained by ABC News and released this morning—Peterson and Vincent can be heard discussing Peterson's suspension. Vincent tells Peterson that, if he attends a November 14 meeting with Roger Goodell, he will only be subjected to a two-game suspension instead of an indefinite suspension.

"Two games?" Peterson asks Vincent during the conversation.

"Yeah," Vincent responds, before alluding to the fact that the two-game suspension only applies if Peterson attends the meeting with Goodell. "Just go through the process."

Peterson did not "go through the process" as Vincent suggested, though. He skipped the meeting with Goodell—a meeting that, to his knowledge, wasn't required under the league's rules—and was handed an indefinite suspension a short time later.

You can listen to a portion of Peterson and Vincent's phone call in the clip above. Obviously, the NFL Players Association isn't happy about this right now and is vowing to fight even harder on Peterson's behalf. NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith appeared on ESPN's Mike & Mike in the Morning today and confirmed that the union is going to help Peterson take his legal battle to federal court very soon:

Stay tuned to see what impact the phone call has, if any, on Peterson's suspension moving forward.

UPDATE:

That didn't take very long. According to ESPN, the NFLPA has already filed a lawsuit against the NFL:

[via Deadspin]

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