Sports

Union Heads to Court to Get Adrian Peterson Back on Field

Published

9 years ago

February 6, 2015

In this Oct. 16, 2011, file photo, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson watches from the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game in Chicago. Adrian Peterson remains in NFL limbo and his union’s latest attempt to restore his playing status will take place in federal court on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

DAVE CAMPBELL, AP Pro Football Writer

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The latest attempt by star running back Adrian Peterson to get back on the field will come in a federal courtroom.

Attorneys for the NFL Players Association were scheduled to argue Friday for the Minnesota Vikings standout’s reinstatement from a suspension levied by the league under its divisive personal conduct policy. The punishment, stemming from the child abuse case involving Peterson and one of his young sons, has widened the divide between the NFL and the NFLPA over player discipline.

The effort on behalf of Peterson, who is suspended through at least April 15, is the legal equivalent of fourth-and-really-long.

When Peterson’s appeal was denied Dec. 12 by an arbitrator appointed by the league, the union sued. Its petition to overturn the decision contends that the suspension, guided by Commissioner Roger Goodell’s enhanced punishments for players involved with domestic violence after the Ray Rice case, strayed from the collective bargaining agreement. The NFLPA also argued the decision is unfair and arbitrator Harold Henderson was biased and exceeded his authority.

“Courts are not impotent bystanders to miscarriages of arbitral justice,” the NFLPA’s lawyers wrote last week in reply to the NFL’s request that U.S. District Judge David Doty toss out the case.

Peterson and the union found a potentially friendly courtroom, given Doty’s history of ruling in favor of players over three decades of refereeing the league’s labor disputes. But he has not exclusively sided with the union, which has a difficult case to make.

It acknowledged as much in the first sentence of the initial filing: “This Petition presents the Court with the rare Arbitration Award that must be set aside.”

Federal labor law typically prevents judges from trumping the arbitration process in collectively bargained workplaces.

“I would go a step further than saying it’s ‘rare,'” said Justin Eller, a management-side labor and employment lawyer for the Baltimore-based Miles and Stockbridge firm. “I would say it’s incredibly rare for these decisions to be reversed. They’ve got some compelling arguments to make, but I do think they’ve got an uphill battle on this.”

Peterson, originally charged with felony child abuse, avoided the possibility of jail time by pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault for using a wooden switch to discipline his 4-year-old son.

As part of a revamped personal conduct policy approved Dec. 10, Peterson essentially received a six-game unpaid suspension. But he played in only one game in the 2014 season, spending most of it on paid leave through a special exempt list controlled solely by Goodell while his case played out in Texas.

Peterson’s best hope for a court-ordered reinstatement might be retroactivity. The injuries he caused occurred in May, and Goodell didn’t announce the increased penalty until August.

“There’s something about that that doesn’t feel right,” Eller said.

In its Jan. 26 reply, the NFLPA wrote that the CBA “could not be clearer in expressly limiting” Goodell’s disciplinary authority. But that’s a matter of interpretation for Doty.

“The CBA gives him pretty broad authority to discipline players,” Eller said. “Part of this is their own contract that’s going to work against them with some of these arguments they want to make.”

Peterson’s status with the Vikings has been complicated by the expiration date on the suspension. If they decided to keep him on his current contract, he would draw a $12.75 million salary in 2015 and carry a salary cap hit of $15.4 million that’s by far the biggest of any running back in the league.

With plenty of other needs to address on the roster, allocating that much money to that position is almost unfathomable for a team that hasn’t hesitated to cut a veteran player despite popularity and production.

The free agency and trading period begins March 10, just 11 days before Peterson’s 30th birthday. That’s also more than a month before the earliest he could be reinstated by Goodell, unless Doty were to beat him to it.

The Vikings drafted Jerick McKinnon in the third round last season, and general manager Rick Spielman said last month he sees the rookie running back class this year being as deep as it’s been in a while. Even if they weren’t interested in signing a free agent to replace Peterson, they could also try to deal him for draft picks.

Simply releasing Peterson would only count $2.4 million in dead money against the team’s salary cap for 2015 and nothing thereafter, but letting him leave without any compensation would be a big blow to the organization.

“He’s going to play at a very high level when he comes back,” Spielman said recently. “I don’t know if there’s a team in the NFL that wouldn’t want Adrian Peterson on their football team.”

___

Online:

AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

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Rajah Caruth: Young Trailblazer of NASCAR

Imagine you’re only 22 years old and already making a name for yourself in NASCAR, one of the most thrilling sports in the US. That is the life of Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver.

Published

1 hour ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver. (File Photo)

By Tamara Shiloh

Born June 11, 2002, in Washington, DC, he was drawn to the sport as a child after seeing the Disney Pixar film “Cars.”

Caruth dreamed of tooling around the track like the main character in “Cars,” Lightning McQueen. His enthusiasm grew when his parents surprised him with a trip to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway when he was 12.

In 2018, while keeping busy with school, sports and a summer job, Caruth and his family held fundraisers so that he could buy an iRacing simulator. Then, at age 16, he traded a real driver’s license to race virtually in the eNASCAR Ignite Series, which led to him being recruited by the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program.

His first big opportunity came in 2019 when he competed in a “Legends” car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Bojangles’ Southern Shootout and recorded two top-third in the semi-pro points.

People began to recognize Caruth’s talents. In 2020, he stepped up to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and became the first African American to win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in a late model race. The next year, he won at Tri-County Motor Speedway and picked up his fourth overall late model victory.

Then, he became the first person of color to win at the South Carolina track.

In 2021, Caruth announced he would compete full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East for Rev Racing, where he finished third in the standings, including a series of top-five finishes. He made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on a bigger stage as well.

Then, in 2022, thing really took off. A new chapter found Caruth at NASCAR’s unofficial Triple A league with GMS Racing, where he drives full-time for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with a sponsorship from The Wendell Scott Foundation. After a few setbacks, he broke into the top 10 several times, finishing at a career-high 6th at Darlington Raceway.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Caruth’s took the third major step in his career. He is now driving full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Spire Motorsports and has been making the news for putting on stellar performances. Oh, and he won at Las Vegas: his first career victory.

From an impressionable young racing fan to a professional NASCAR driver, Caruth is charting a new path, creating history, and inspiring people to always remember that if you have the talent, the drive, and most of all, the heart, anything can be achieved.

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Salesian Coach Knew Angel Jackson Could Play in WNBA

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson. “If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said. That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Published

6 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Angel Jackson. Photo courtesy of Jackston State.

The Richmond Standard

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson.

“If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said.

That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Jackson’s success came as little surprise to Pezzola, who last year led the Pride to their 8th North Coast Section championship since he took over the program in 2008-2009. In 2019, Pezzola commended Jackson as “a very coachable kid” from the time she arrived at Salesian.

Tomekia Reed, her coach at Jackson State, shared similar sentiments, noting Jackson worked “very hard” to reach this moment.

“She came into our program doing great things and never looked back,” Reed told the Clarion Ledger. “She has trusted our leadership as we were able to develop her into an amazing player. I have watched her improve tremendously over the years.”

The 6’-6” Jackson played three seasons at the University of Southern California before transferring to Jackson State. She was ranked 10th in the NCAA in blocked shots and averaged 10 points per game in her final college season.

She finished her collegiate career with 1,047 points and was twice named Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

As the 36th pick, Jackson was the final pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In a television interview, Jackson said she didn’t expect to be picked, and called the moment “surreal.”

“It made me feel so appreciative that HBCU is getting back on the map again,” she said.

All she could do in that moment was cry.

“I called my mom immediately, and she started crying,” Jackson said. “It was the best moment you can feel as a young lady.”

There’s no stopping Jackson now. “The sky is the limit,” she said.

Her high school coach agrees.

“I knew that Angel could do it,” Coach Pezzola told the Richmond Standard this week. “We are so proud of Angel and what she has accomplished. It was an honor and joy to coach Angel at Salesian.”

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Oakland WNBA Player to be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February. Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo Courtesy of Alexis Gray Lawson.

By Post staff

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February.

Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

The banquet and ceremony will be held from 5:45 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the George P. Scotlan Convention Center at Oakland’s Marriott Civic Center Hotel.

“I am truly honored to receive this incredible nomination,” said Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, who, along with college teammate Devanei Hampton, lead Oakland Tech to its second consecutive state title in 2005. “It took a village to raise me and get me here, and I truly am excited to continue the legacy.”

Gray-Lawson, a “second team” Parade All-American and an All-State honoree, as a senior in ’05, was chosen for the California Interscholastic Federation sportsmanship award. She only lost one game throughout her four-year career in high school. Her jersey was retired at Oakland Tech and placed in the National High School Hall of Fame as a four-time All-City recipient, averaging 17.2 points per game during her career.

Gray-Lawson received scholarships in volleyball, softball, and basketball before deciding to travel up College Avenue to the University of California, Berkeley. There, she played in more basketball games (143) than any other player in Golden Bears’ history. She finished her career as the Bears all-time 3-point leader (211), and she is ranked third in scoring with 1,982 points.

An All-Pac 10 and honorable mention All-American in 2010, Gray-Lawson also was the top player at 5’8” or under for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award. Later that year, she was a third-round pick of the Washington Mystics in 2010 and played with the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association in 2011 and 2012. She also played professionally overseas in Turkey and Israel.

Other inductees are Clifford Ray (Basketball); Lee Lacy (Baseball); Spencer Haywood (Basketball); and Mohinder Singh Gil (Track & Field).

Organizers say the event promises to be a “historic and celebratory evening,” and iconic personalities from across the professional sports industry and its various disciplines will attend.

The no-host cocktail hour begins at 5:45 p.m.; dinner at 6:45 p.m.; and the ceremony at 7:45 p.m. All times are prompt. General tickets are $250.00; Seniors (65 and older) $150.00, and students $50. This includes dinner and the ceremony. Tables of 10 are available as well, and early purchase is recommended.

MESHOF is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring athletes from all corners of the globe who have made significant contributions to the world of sports and broadening the public’s understanding of the contributions people of color have made to professional sports; and to provide educational life skills and mentorship opportunities for deserving youth. Proceeds will help maintain the City of Oakland’s Curt Flood Field, Oakland Parks & Recreation, and MESHOF’s after school and mental health initiatives.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.multiethnicsportshof.com. For additional information, please contact: Arif Khatlib @ afrosportshall@aol.com or India Alston @ india@beamcreativehouse.com