In suspending Adrian Peterson without pay for the rest of the season, Roger Goodell made the right decision, and probably for the wrong reasons.
When the photographs of the damage Peterson did to his four-year-old son were made public, with the caveat that the wounds had begun healing before the photos were taken, it was clear that Peterson had behaved inhumanly, using his incredible physical power to damage someone innocent and defenseless.
The courts in Texas, where child brutality is often mistaken for strong parenting, barely blinked before cutting Peterson a favorable plea deal. Vikings' management tried to reinstate him after one missed game, with general manager Rick Spielman saying `` We believe this is a case of a parent disciplining his child.''
The only person with the power and willingness to discipline Peterson would be Goodell, the NFL commissioner. And he did.
To think he punished Peterson severely strictly because Goodell was concerned with the child's safety would be naïve. Goodell punished Peterson severely to offer a warning to other wayward players, to challenge the players' union, and to reestablish himself as an authoritative figure months after he was made to look either foolish or corrupt with his handling of Ray Rice's act of domestic violence.
Goodell is severely punishing Peterson because he so lightly punished Rice, initially handing Rice a two-game suspension even while knowing that Rice knocked out his then-fiancee in an elevator.
There will be howls of protest from Vikings fans, and fantasy football owners, but Goodell got this right. He had two choices moving forward: To remove himself as acting judge and jury of player misconduct cases, or to make an example of a star athlete who harmed a child.
Peterson earned this level of punishment. Whether Goodell has the right to impose it is a matter for the courts, and Goodell probably won't mind watching Peterson's legal team fighting him in the courts, where Goodell for once will get to wear a white hat.
