By Andre Brown, staff writer
It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon in chilly Min- nesota. The Vikings are on the Detroit Lions three-yard line and are about to punch in the go-ahead touchdown with 35 seconds left. Like every other year for the past seven, the Vikings are going to call in their franchise running back Adrian Peterson, the best running back in the game since he entered the NFL as a rookie from Oklahoma. The only running back to have rushed for 2,000 yards in a season since Jamal Lewis in 2003 and only eight yards off becoming the all-time season rushing leader behind Erick Dickerson. The running back is only the 29th running back to ever reach 10,000 yards rushing and the fifth to do it by his seventh sea- son. He is on pace to be the all-time rushing leader in his 13th season, a year before Emmitt Smith passed Walter Payton as the all-time leading rusher.
But it will be different this time. Exit Peter- son and enter Matt Asista. The five-year veteran has run for 221 yards his whole career, 9,969 yards less than Peterson.
Why is this occurring? Why wouldn’t you play the best running back in the game today? Because after being charged in Montgomery County with one count of injury to a child with reckless or criminal negligence, the NFL super- star has been put on the NFL exempt list, suspending him from all team activities until his case is solved.
This would seem like it should be a one time crazy fluke that’s happened in the NFL, if it wasn’t for the fact that four other players in the NFL are dealing with domestic violence charges and others are dealing with different drug offenses.
Are the NFL policies the problem? Or perhaps it’s the way the NFL has dealt with the recent issues. In New Jersey this February, Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was charged with one count of domestic violence after punching his then fiancee unconscious and dragging her out of an elevator. Initially, video of Rice dragging his now current wife out of the elevator was all that played nationwide. The NFL initially gave Rice a two-game sus- pension for the incident. Then, last month, vid- eo of Rice hitting his wife was broadcasted by TMZ worldwide, so the NFL suspended Rice indefinitely.
But isn’t that double jeopardy. Is it legal to give a two-game suspension to a player that admitted to the league that he hit his wife, but then when the video of the situation comes out, to suspend him for life? The worst of it is the NFL had the video the whole time, after claim- ing that they never saw the video of Rice actu- ally hitting his wife in the elevator. NFL com- missioner Roger Goodell looked into the CBS camera and directly said that the league never received a copy of the video, but the New Jersey police a day later claimed they sent in the tape over five months ago.
The problem about this all is the original two-game suspension. How can you suspend a player only two games after he clearly said he hit wife, with or without the video, after you suspended Cleveland Browns receiver a whole season for marijuana use? Weed… a drug that is legal for one purpose or another in 23 state including the state he was found with it.
After lots of criticism, the NFL changed its domestic violence policies to a more strict policy. Criticism was needed and without any backbone, the NFL is such a money-driven league that they bowed down to any criticism.
Peterson was originally allowed back on the team after turning himself in and paying $15,000 in bail. The team’s owners and coaches stood in front of media and claimed how he de- serves his day in court and shouldn’t be judged until the legal process plays out. Once again, criticism came swiftly and the Minnesota Vi- kings and the NFL bowed to it scared about losing sponsorships and put him on the exempt list.
Unfortunately, Peterson’s case isn’t an anom- aly. Besides these last two cases and the three other domestic violence cases, the NFL has poorly dealt with lots of drug cases and other legal issues. San Francisco defensive lineman Ray Mcdonald is also dealing with domestic violence charges as well as Carolina Panthers de- fensive lineman Gary Hardy, but the difference is they haven’t been taken off the field because they aren’t as high profile as Rice or Peterson.
The NFL needs to get this right. They need a consistent policy that is fair, so players committing similar crimes face similar punishment.