On Friday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appointed former NFL executive Harold Henderson to resolve the appeal filed by Vikings running back Adrian Peterson under the personal conduct policy.
The NFL Players Association does not believe that the action satisfies its request for a neutral third-party arbitrator.
“A long-time NFL Executive and current legal consultant cannot, by definition, be a neutral arbitrator,” the union said in a statement released to PFT.
The NFL appointed Henderson without addressing the union’s request for a neutral third-party arbitrator. The league previously appointed former U.S. Judge Barbara Jones to handle the appeal of Ray Rice’s indefinite suspension.
Judge Jones ultimately required Goodell to testify at the Rice appeal hearing, over the strenuous objection of the NFL. That ruling may or may not have influenced the NFL’s willingness to appoint a true outsider to handle Peterson’s case.