Sports

Peterson was charged with a felony after being accused of hitting his four-year-old son with a switch

The NFL’s executive vice president for football operations Troy Vincent appeared to tell Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson that he would only be suspended for two games, according to recordings of their conversation obtained by ABC News.

Peterson appeared to call Vincent in order to determine whether his time served on the Commissioner’s/Exempt List — when the running back was suspended with pay — would factor in the NFL’s sentencing. Peterson was suspended without pay for the rest of the season last month. His appeal was denied on Friday, and he will not be considered for reinstatement until April 15. On Monday, the NFLPA filed a lawsuit challenging the NFL’s Peterson decision, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

Earlier this season, Peterson was placed on the Commissioner’s List when he was charged with a felony after being accused of hitting his four-year-old son with a switch. In court, Peterson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault. He was fined $4,000 and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service.

In the Nov. 12 conversation between Peterson and Vincent, the NFL executive appears to tell Peterson that his time served on the Commissioner’s List will count toward his suspension. Peterson’s legal team has been claiming the NFL promised the running back that he would only receive a two-game suspension.

• McCANN: Exploring Adrian Peterson’s legal options following failed appeal

In the recording, Peterson asks Vincent whether he will get a two-game suspension.

Vincent replies, “Yeah.”

Peterson: “It will be two additional games — not time served?”

Vincent: “No, no, no, no, no, no. It won’t..the one this weekend. So really it’s next weekend. You will be back.”

Peterson, a six-time Pro Bowler, has missed all but one of the team’s games this season.

This article originally appeared on SI.com

NFL Players Association argues against NFL's decision to suspend the Vikings running back

The NFL Players Association has filed a lawsuit on behalf of suspended Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson against the NFL in federal court in Minneapolis, MN, on Monday morning, according to a release from the NFLPA.

The NFLPA’s intention to file suit was reported by Tom Pelissero of USA TODAY Sports on Sunday evening.

The suit is expected to challenge the impartiality of Harold Henderson, who upheld NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s suspension of Peterson on Friday. Henderson, a former league employee for nearly two decades, called Peterson’s domestic abuse case “arguably one of the most egregious cases of domestic violence” under Goodell’s nine-year tenure as commissioner.

Peterson was suspended for the season in November after he was indicted on felony charges of reckless or negligent injury to a child in September. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault on Nov. 4 after authorities claimed he hit his 4-year-old son with a switch.

Peterson cannot be reinstated before April 15, 2015.

After Henderson’s decision was handed down, the NFLPA responded in a statement:

The NFLPA expected this outcome, given the hearing officer’s relationship and financial ties to the NFL. The decision itself ignores the facts, the evidence and the collective bargaining agreement. This decision also represents the NFL’s repeated failure to adhere to due process and confirms its inconsistent treatment of players. Our union is considering immediate legal remedies.

At the hearing last week, the union argued that Peterson was punished retroactively under Goodell’s changes to the personal conduct policy in August. It also said Peterson was subjected to a “new and obfuscated disciplinary process,” according to USA TODAY.

Henderson rejected those claims in his ruling:

I conclude that the player has not demonstrated that the process and procedures surrounding his discipline were not fair and consistent; he was afforded all the protections and rights to which he is entitled, and I find no basis to vacate or reduce the discipline.

Henderson also echoed Goodell’s claims in a letter to Peterson that the Vikings star failed to “reflect remorse or appreciation for the seriousness of his actions.”

This article originally appeared on SI.com

Bryant is now the league's third highest career scorer

"It's pretty pathetic when athletes think they know the law"

The head of the Cleveland Police Union is demanding an apology after Cleveland Browns wide receiver Andrew Hawkins wore a shirt before Sunday’s game that read, “Justice for Tamir Rice – John Crawford.”

Rice, a 12-year-old boy, died last month after he was shot by a Cleveland police officer who reportedly mistook his air gun for a real firearm. Crawford was shot and killed by police in August while holding an air rifle in a WalMart.

Hawkins wore the shirt coming out of the tunnel at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland before the Browns’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Afterward, Jeff Follmer, Police Patrolman Union president, sent newsnet5 in Cleveland the following statement:

It’s pretty pathetic when athletes think they know the law. They should stick to what they know best on the field. The Cleveland Police protect and serve the Browns stadium and the Browns organization owes us an apology.

Last week, Browns cornerback Johnson Bademosi wore a shirt that read, “I Can’t Breathe,” during warmups before a game against the Indianapolis Colts. Athletes across the country have worn shirts with the message in protest of a grand jury’s decision not to indict the New York police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner.

Last month, St. Louis police offers were angered after Rams players took the field with a “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture used by protesters in Ferguson, Mo., and across the country. None of the athletes protesting with the shirts have been punished by the NFL or the NBA.

This article originally appeared on Si.com

Baseball cards actually date to the 1800s, but Berger was responsible for turning them into the version we know today

Sy Berger, who brought about the modern baseball trading card, thus creating an American cultural past-time and a flashpoint for childhood nostalgia, died on Sunday at his home in Rockville Centre, New York. He was 91.

The Lower East Side-born inventor is credited with turning the Brooklyn-based Topps company into the biggest name in the baseball card business, after introducing the first Topps cards in 1951, the New York Times reports.

Though baseball cards date to the 1800s, Berger was responsible for turning them into the version we know today: big, colorful, and imbued with meaning. The Times reports that Berger also collected cards as a kid and worshipped Wally Berger (no relation), of the Boston Braves, as a boyhood hero.

[NYT]

“He played like a rookie, and looked like a rookie”

Let’s be clear about one thing amid all the infernally hot takes regarding the first NFL start of Johnny Manziel: A bad start to an NFL career doesn’t really mean much. For every quarterback who has started hot only to flame out just as quickly, there’s a quarterback who threw up all over himself to start his career and then went on to do great things.

That said, Manziel’s performance against the Cincinnati Bengals was not one that will have tongues wagging about his future — at least, not in a positive sense. Manziel looked overwhelmed and frustrated more often than not in Sunday’s 30-0 loss, throwing several passes too high and finishing with 10 completions in 18 attempts for 80 passing yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and three sacks. Cincinnati’s defense, which had been exploited by the legs of Carolina’s Cam Newton in a 37-37 Week 6 tie, shut Manziel down in the Bengals’ second matchup against a truly mobile quarterback this season. Manziel ran five times for 13 yards, and most of them were scrambles as opposed to designed runs.

“He didn’t play well,” Browns head coach Mike Pettine said after the game. “He played like a rookie, and looked like a rookie.”

Not that it was all Manziel’s fault. The Browns managed only 53 rushing yards on 17 attempts and had just 38 total plays. Cleveland’s defense, which had kept the team afloat while Brian Hoyer had been dealing with his own struggles under center, gave up 244 yards on the ground on 45 carries and allowed rookie Jeremy Hill to run wild for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 25 attempts. Andy Daltonwasn’t too great himself, completing 14-of-24 passes for 117 yards, no touchdowns and an interception, but the Bengals were firing on all other cylinders, while the Browns were decidedly not.

Myriad quarterback issues aside, it may be time to concede that the Browns aren’t a very good team, that their 7-7 record is about as positive a result as could be expected, and it’s time to let either Manziel or Hoyer take their lumps while a foundation is built around them. There’s a great deal of talent in Cleveland, from the offensive line to the backfield to the defense, but this is a team that is struggling to hold it together consistently. What Pettine must do now is avoid the quarterback back-and-forth he’s engaged in of late. He’s seen Hoyer become ineffective, and he’s seen Manziel take his lumps. The question going forward is whether the Browns will let Manziel try to unlock his higher upside or give the ball back to Hoyer and hope that experience trumps the veteran’s obvious limitations.

What we do know is that Manziel didn’t make anyone’s job easier with this performance. Including his own. Pettine said after the game that Manziel will get to start the rest of the way this season, but we’ll see how the vagaries of the position play out.

This article originally appeared on SI.com

Pall of football defeats hangs over West Point since 9/11

Thirteen years ago, two months after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the U.S. finally had something to celebrate. “We believe the Taliban appears to have abandoned Kabul,” General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, declared on Nov. 13, 2001, a scant 38 days after the U.S. launched its invasion of Afghanistan. The Taliban, who had given sanctuary to those who carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, were on the run.

Nineteen days later, in the warm afterglow that followed, Army beat Navy, 26-17, in the annual gridiron classic between the nation’s two oldest military academies. It was the last game they’d play at Philadelphia’s now-gone Veterans Stadium.

It was also the last time Army beat Navy (Navy leads the series with 59 wins, 49 losses, and seven ties).

History repeated itself again Saturday, as Navy beat Army 17-10 in Baltimore in their 115th clash. The sting hurts even more given Army’s pregame hype.

For more than a decade, as Army loss follows Army loss, it has been distressing to see the Black Knights of West Point, N.Y., lose to the Midshipmen of Annapolis, Md. If the Army can’t prevail on the gridiron, the thinking goes, how can it beat the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS)? Football, after all, is a game played in the dirt—the Army’s home turf—not in salt water.

The streak has led to stories like this from Duffel Blog, a website dedicated to fake news about the U.S. military, shortly before kickoff:

The Army’s record-breaking 12-game losing streak against the Naval Academy is actually an experiment to build officer resiliency for the military’s next impossible war, according to one senior West Point official. “We’re going to win this time!” U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond T. Odierno is expected to exclaim to a crowd of crestfallen cadets in the locker room of M&T Bank Stadium, unconsciously echoing both William Westmoreland in 1971 and Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel last Friday…“Look at this way,” a leaked document of Gen. Odierno’s prepared remarks reveal. “Even at 0-12, we’ve still beaten Navy more recently than we’ve beaten any of America’s actual enemies!”

Football, with its goal lines, sidelines and referees, has a clarity that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq lack. But few believe that the Army—the service that has done the bulk of the fighting, and dying in both (accounting for 4,955 of 6,828 U.S. military deaths, or 73%)—has achieved victories there.

Since 9/11, 95 graduates of the U.S. Military Academy have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. Sixteen from the U.S. Naval Academy have made the ultimate sacrifice, including 2nd Lieutenant J.P. Blecksmith, Class of 2003. He caught a pass in the last game the Army won. Blecksmith was following in the footsteps of his father, who served as a Marine in Vietnam. As the Marines fought to retake the Iraqi city of Fallujah on Nov. 11—Veterans Day—2004, a sniper killed him.

Granted, it’s foolish to link wars with games. Football no more resembles war than it resembles life. But the ethos of football—grit, self-sacrifice, playing through pain—isn’t foreign to those on the battlefield.

And the battle continues in Afghanistan. The Taliban once again are stepping up their attacks in and around Kabul, the capital. Early Saturday, a pair of men on a motorbike shot and killed a top Afghan court official, as he walked from his home to his car in a northwestern suburb of Kabul. Late Friday, a bomb killed two U.S. soldiers north of Kabul. A pair of attacks killed six Afghan soldiers and 12 men clearing clearing landmines.

But the U.S., more or less, has decided to pick up its ball and head home. “This month, our combat mission in Afghanistan will be over,” President Barack Obama said in his weekly radio address Saturday. “Our war in Afghanistan is coming to a responsible end.”

It’s a lot easier to define end than it is to define responsible. Check back in a year to see if Army’s other losing streak has come to an end, too.