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Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will meet Tuesday with the NFL to discuss his playing status, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The person spoke Monday to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
Peterson was suspended under the league’s personal conduct policy through at least April 15 due to the child abuse case involving his young son, a punishment he appealed. Commissioner Roger Goodell has said he planned to meet with Peterson before the anticipated expiration date of the suspension to assess the six-time Pro Bowl pick’s status.
The league would not comment on the meeting, spokesman Brian McCarthy said. Peterson’s agent, Ben Dogra, declined to comment.
When the punishment was announced Nov. 18, Goodell ordered Peterson to meet with Dr. April Kuchuk, an instructor in the New York University Department of Psychiatry and a consultant to the New York City District Attorney’s offices and New York courts, as part of a counseling and treatment program in conjunction with the suspension.
Peterson’s appeal was denied by arbitrator Harold Henderson, but the NFL Players Association took the fight to court and U.S. District Judge David Doty ruled Feb. 26 that Henderson’s decision must be voided and thus sent back to the arbitration process. In appealing Doty’s decision, the NFL tabled Peterson’s suspension and placed him on the special exempt list where he spent much of the 2014 season while the child abuse case played out.
Sharper pleads not guilty to rape charges
NEW ORLEANS — Convicted of sex-assault charges in three states as the result of guilty or no-contest pleas, former NFL star Darren Sharper entered a federal courtroom in New Orleans on Monday to answer charges that he drugged women with the intention of raping them.
Sharper entered a formal plea of not guilty before a federal magistrate judge but that was considered a legal formality. He has already pleaded guilty to state charges in Nevada and Arizona and no-contest — tantamount to a guilty plea — in California. When a multi-jurisdiction plea agreement was announced last month the district attorney in New Orleans, where Sharper faced state and federal charges, said he was expected to plead guilty in Louisiana as well.
Monday’s hearing was before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sally Shushan. Felony guilty pleas cannot be accepted in the magistrate court during initial appearances. Sharper, shackled and wearing orange coveralls, answered questions and entered his plea. His attorneys did not seek bond. A June 8 trial date was set. It was unclear whether a hearing would be held ahead of that date. Attorneys declined comment as they left the courthouse.
Sharper also is set for arraignment Tuesday on state charges, including aggravated rape, at the criminal courthouse in New Orleans.
Sharper has been jailed since charges were filed in Los Angeles in early 2014. He will spend at least another nine years in prison.
San Diego group eager to speak with NFL’s LA point man
SAN DIEGO — A teleconference with the NFL’s point man for Los Angeles will give Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s stadium advisory group the chance to express how serious it is about solving the long-running, contentious issue of building the Chargers a new stadium, chairman Adam Day said Monday.
Day also said the entire community — the Chargers included — need to support the group’s effort or it will strengthen the chance the team will bolt to Los Angeles.
The nine-member advisory group is scheduled to hold a conference call with NFL executive Eric Grubman on Tuesday. Grubman will then meet in San Diego with a handful of group members the following Tuesday.
“They’ve been very open and candid with us, wanting to kick the tires and find out what we’re like as a committee,” Day said Monday. “We’re a serious group committed to solving this problem and we’re working hard to develop a fair and workable financing plan.”