Video (01:09) : The running back will have the appeal of his suspension heard Tuesday
The waiting game continues for Adrian Peterson.
The Vikings running back, sidelined since the season opener, on Tuesday finally got a chance to state his case before the NFL. Peterson participated in an appeal of his NFL-mandated suspension, which runs until at least April 15, in New York. But the league hearing will not be concluded until Thursday, when a key witness is scheduled to speak.
On Tuesday, Peterson stood before former NFL Executive Vice President for Labor Relations Harold Henderson, who was appointed by Commissioner Roger Goodell after the National Football League Players Association requested a third-party arbitrator. According to reports, Peterson spoke for about 10 minutes at Henderson's request.
But before deciding whether to uphold, reduce or vacate Peterson's suspension, Henderson wants to hear from NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent, who was unavailable Tuesday because he was testifying on the league's behalf at a Senate committee hearing on domestic violence in professional sports in Washington, D.C.
Vincent will meet with Henderson on Thursday.
The focal point of Peterson's appeal is his belief that Vincent told him if he went on the commissioner's exempt list he would get credit for "time served," plus a two-game suspension. A transcript of that conversation, and a recording, were presented at Tuesday's hearing, according to reports.
The NFL has provided no time frame for a ruling, saying that it is up to the hearing officer, Henderson. The collective bargaining agreement says that "as soon as practicable following the conclusion of the hearing, the hearing officer will render a written decision which will constitute full, final and complete disposition of the dispute."
A recent appeal by former Baltimore running back Ray Rice, who had his suspension overturned by independent arbitrator Federal Judge Barbara Jones, took three weeks from the end of the appeal until the ruling. Henderson also ruled this season on a suspension involving Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, and
Peterson has been in limbo since Week 2.
He was deactivated for the team's second game after being indicted by a grand jury in Texas on a felony charge of injury to a child after evidenced surfaced of injuries to a 4-year-old son who had been beaten with a switch.
After a very brief reinstatement protested publicly by some of the league's and team's corporate sponsors, he was placed on the exempt list while the court case played out. The 2012 NFL MVP plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault on Nov. 4, believing he would be able to rejoin the Vikings.
But Goodell, on Nov. 18, suspended Peterson until at least next April 15.
The league, among other things, was upset that Peterson refused to show up for an explanatory session with the NFL the previous week. Goodell, in a scathing letter to Peterson, singled out his unwillingness to express remorse for injuries to the child.
The Vikings have four games remaining in their season. If Peterson is reinstated by Henderson, the team must choose whether to welcome him back or release him from their roster. So far, the Vikings have supported the NFL in the suspension while sidestepping questions about the running back's future with the organization.
Peterson has been paid his $11.75 million salary while on the exempt list. His contract, which runs through 2017, had $36 million in guaranteed money that has already been paid out, and his salary next season would be $12.75 million. The Vikings could cut him in the offseason and not be obligated to pay him any more money.
