Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is not happy after losing his appeal on Friday, and is considering retirement rather than dealing with the league any further.
Adrian Peterson thought that he might have a chance to win his appeal of the NFL’s year-long suspension for him, but he couldn’t have been more wrong about that.
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An independent arbitrator — and ‘independent is used in the lightest of senses — ruled against Peterson on Friday and upheld his suspension which is going to run through Week 3 of the 2015 season. As a result, Peterson is ready to walk away from the game as a show of protest over the way he was treated in the appeals process.
Peterson released a statement after losing his appeal that proclaims he’s ready to retire from the NFL and head back to Texas in order to pursue other dreams he has. In other words, if the NFL thinks they can have the last say — Peterson won’t allow that.
"“I’ve considered retiring from the NFL,” Peterson said. “I still made $8 million dollars this year. I’ve thought about getting back into the real estate (business in Texas) I’m already in. That’s something I’ve been interested in, something I’m involved in. I’ve thought about getting back into that. I’ve thought about going after the Olympics — you only live once. It might be time for me to pursue that, as well. I love playing football, don’t get me wrong, but this situation is deeper than that. For me, it’s like, ‘Why should I continue to be a part of an organization or a business that handles players the way they do? Making money off the field anyway, why not continue to pursue that (Olympic) dream and pursue other dreams and hang up the cleats?'”"
There’s already speculation that the Minnesota Vikings would rather cut Peterson than pay him his massive contract, especially with running backs like Todd Gurley looking to be readily available int he second and third rounds of the Draft this spring.
Peterson walking away from the game would forever link him to this scandal, and it would give him a Barry Sanders-esque mythology about his records and career. He isn’t actively pursuing retirement, but it’s possible that all of this could force Peterson to favor retirement, as he may have played is last game in the NFL already.
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