THURSDAY, 9:36am: Peterson’s grievance was formally filed early this morning, tweets Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports.
WEDNESDAY, 6:56pm: Peterson’s appeal hearing is scheduled for December 2nd, according to Chris Mortensen of ESPN (on Twitter). That’s the second Tuesday after the filing of the appeal, the date that is mandated by Article 46 of the collective bargaining agreement.
6:55pm: The NFLPA prepared to file an appeal on behalf of Adrian Peterson today, according to Peter King of The MMQB (via Twitter links). King’s tweets came this afternoon and it’s not immediately clear if the appeal was filed before the end of business on Wednesday, however.
The union will ask for a reversal of Peterson’s ban based on two factors, according to King. First, the NFLPA will argue that the league’s process was arbitrary. Secondly, they say that the new ban is essentially double jeopardy for the star running back since he has already sat out for nine games while on the commissioner’s exempt list. The NFLPA will also request a neutral arbitrator.
King adds that he doesn’t like the NFLPA’s chances of winning since they’re appealing to the body that handed down the penalty less than 48 hours ago and it’s hard to argue. As it stands, we won’t see the six-time Pro Bowler and the once surefire Hall of Famer back in the NFL until 2015, at the earliest.