Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesAdrian Peterson's fate with the NFL has been revealed.
The Minnesota Vikings star has been suspended without pay for the remainder of the 2014 NFL season for violating the NFL Personal Conduct Policy following an incident of abuse inflicted on the athlete's 4-year-old son (on Nov. 4 Peterson pled no contest to reckless assault on a child). He will not be considered for reinstatement before April 15.
In a letter to Peterson, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who faced criticism for his handling of the Ray Rice domestic abuse incident, said that Peterson has shown "no meaningful remorse for his conduct," while emphasizing that the "difference in size and strength between you and the child is significant, and your actions clearly caused physical injury to the child."
"When indicted, you acknowledged what you did but said that you would not 'eliminate whooping my kids' and defended your conduct in numerous published text messages to the child's mother," Goodell said. "You also said that you felt 'very confident with my actions because I know my intent.' These comments raise the serious concern that you do not fully appreciate the seriousness of your conduct, or even worse, that you may feel free to engage in similar conduct in the future."
Following the suspension, the NFL Players Association immediately announced that they plan to appeal the league's decision.
"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," the statement read. "Since Adrian's legal matter was adjudicated, the NFL has ignored their obligations and attempted to impose a new and arbitrary disciplinary proceeding."
Calling the discipline imposed "inconsistent," the statement accused an unnamed league executive of telling Peterson that his time on the commissioner's list (which essentially is a way of placing a player on leave with pay) would be considered as time served.
And not only did the NFL players association announce the appeal, but they also asked that a neutral arbitrator—not Goodell—oversee the final verdict.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings had little to say with regards to the suspension, releasing a statement which read, "The NFL has informed the Vikings of today's decision regarding Adrian Peterson. We respect the league's decision and will have no further comment at this time."
On Sept. 12, Peterson was indicted on a charge of reckless or negligent injury to a child in Texas. Two days later, the Minnesota Vikings deactivated the 29-year-old running back from Sunday's game, only to reinstate the athlete the following day. Shortly after, he was placed him on the exempt/commissioner's permission list, and on Nov. 4, he pled no contest to a reduced charge of misdemeanor reckless assault, allowing him to avoid jail time.