Adrian Peterson has been banned from all team activities while he handles his legal proceedings. Also, the Black Women’s Roundtable is upset that the NFL did not include a woman of color in their newly formed advisory panel to help shape the league's policies. More inside….
The Minnesota Vikings organization have reversed their decision. They have now suspended NFL star running back Adrian Peterson placing him on the exempt/commissioner’s permission list.
Days after reinstating Adrian to play in this Sunday’s upcoming game against the New Orleans Saints, the Vikings have suspended the NFL baller indefinitely, requiring him to stay away from all team activities while he takes care of his legal proceedings.
The NFL has come under a lot of scrutiny since the Ray Rice scandal and after Adrian was indicted by a grand jury in Montgomery County, Texas on charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child. Instead of waiting for the NFL to make a move, the Vikings decided to do what they thought was best for the organization in the wake of Adrian’s legal troubles.
According to NFL.com, the Vikings statement indicates that Peterson will remain deactivated until his legal proceedings are resolved. Peterson has an initial hearing for his charges on October 8th. But, a trial likely won’t proceed until 2015.
Adrian’s agent Ben Dogra has issued a statement regarding the recent suspension saying,
"This is the best possible outcome given the circumstances. Adrian understands the gravity of the situation and this enables him to take care of his personal situation. We fully support Adrian and he looks forward to watching his teammates and coaches being successful during his absence."
So how is Adrian handling all of this? Well… he’s leaning on his faith in God that this too shall pass. He posted on Twitter:
— Adrian Peterson (@AdrianPeterson) September 17, 2014
And get this…the star running back will still collect his full salary of $11.75 million (yes...all of it) even though he has been placed on the exempt list. NFL reporter Ian Rapoport confirmed this saying:
For those asking: Adrian Peterson still will be getting paid during his stay on the exempt list. This could be Greg Hardy’s road map.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 17, 2014
In other NFL news.....
In an attempt to take serious action against players being involved in domestic violence and sexual assault cases, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell formed a four-woman advisory board that will help shape the league's policies going forward.
Problem is…with the league being predominantly African-American; there are some who are up in arms over the chosen women asked to run the board. In comes the Black Women’s Roundtable, a network of women leaders representing Black women and girls across the nation. They have issued an open letter to the NFL Commissioner questioning his decisions on choosing non-African American women to develop the new polices.
They passionately write:
Dear Mr. Goodell,
We, the undersigned members of the Black Women’s Roundtable, an intergenerational network of women leaders representing Black women and girls from across the country are writing to request an emergency meeting with you to share our deep concern and outrage about the plethora of domestic violence cases that has been exposed involving current and past players that are a part of the National Football League (NFL). In addition, we would like to discuss your recent decision to establish an advisory group of women to assist you in developing new policies to eradicate domestic violence within the NFL; and other diversity issues within the NFL.
The Black Women’s Roundtable appreciates the fact that the NFL has established an advisory group of women to assist in “development and implementation of the league’s policies, resources and outreach on issues of domestic violence and sexual assault.” However, your lack of inclusion of women of color, especially Black women who are disproportionately impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault; and the fact that over 66% of the NFL players are made up of African Americans is unacceptable.
The Black Women’s Roundtable 2014 Report released in March 2014 found that Black women are the most likely group of women in America to experience domestic violence. Further, we are nearly three times as likely to die as a result of domestic violence than white women. And while we are only 8% of the population, we make up 22% of the homicides that result from domestic violence and 29% of all women who are victimized. In fact, domestic violence is the leading causes of death for Black women between the ages of 15 to 35, yet we are less likely than others to seek help when we are abused.
As a result of the specific circumstances of Black women and the fact that the majority of the players in the NFL are African American, addressing this issue in a culturally competent way requires the inclusion of Black women.
The Black Women’s Roundtable has been in constant consultation with other civil rights and domestic violence women of color organizations including leaders of the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, National Urban League, National Action Network, National Organization of Sisters of Color Ending Sexual Assault, National African American Clergy Network and others; and we will share with you additional recommendations in the coming days.
Thank you in advance for your consideration of our urgent request to meet with you and your colleagues at the NFL. We will follow-up with your office and look forward to meeting with you at your earliest convenience to share with you our recommendations to ensure that the NFL gets it right moving forward.
Sincerely,
Thoughts?
EXTRAS:
1. Some NFL players (including Dallas Cowboys player Orlando Scandrick) have been reinstated after the NFL's new drug policy modification took effect, reducing suspensions in half. STORY
Photo: Getty
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