NFL Has Another Week Of Legal Turmoil

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Two cases that have rocked the National Football League in recent months are back in the news this week. Former Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice, testified at a hearing stemming from his indefinite suspension. That suspension was imposed after it was revealed that Rice knocked out his then-fiancee, who's now his wife, in a hotel elevator. Meanwhile, the criminal against Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson ended in a plea deal on Tuesday. Peterson was indicted on child abuse charges in September. Sports writer Stefan Fatsis joins us now to about those and other matters. Hi, Stefan.

STEFAN FATSIS: Hey, Robert.

SIEGEL: So in Texas, Adrian Peterson pleads no contest to a misdemeanor for injuring his four-year-old son - whipping him with a tree branch. And Ray Rice was at the hearing trying to get his suspension overturned. What's the likelihood that either of these men will actually play this season in the NFL?

FATSIS: Well, I think, in Peterson's case, it wouldn't be surprising. He originally faced a felony charge. He's missed eight games now. He has applied to be reinstated. The league, though, says he's going to remain out until his case is reviewed under its own Personal Conduct Policy. Ray Rice - I think it's far less likely that he's going to play, given the overwhelming pressure on the NFL when this episode was unfolding a couple of months ago. The issue for the NFL here and going forward, though, is going to be - how do they take it into account the judicial resolution of cases like these? And both of these cases have now been resolved judicially - versus their own internal, extrajudicial punishment system. The NFL has said it's reviewing its own procedures here, and I think these are going to be test-cases for how to handle players returning to the league.

SIEGEL: Meanwhile, despite these stories, NFL attendance is good. Ratings are good, and things seem to be back to normal. And normal, nowadays, includes pro football games in London.

FATSIS: Yeah. Fans have short attention spans, as we know. In London - three games there last season, three games this season, three games next season. This is all part of a plan that the NFL has. They say they want to put a franchise at Wembley Stadium in 2022. Teams don't much like playing in London, so the host-team gets a million dollars for giving up a home game. But the NFL is a making London home game a quid pro quo for hosting the Super Bowl, which is why Atlanta hosted one at Wembley this season, and why Miami and Kansas City are hosting games there next year.

SIEGEL: OK, let's move on from real football, Stefan, to fake football, specifically videogame football. And I gather there's an interesting take on the NFL Madden game.

FATSIS: Yes, it's Breaking Madden. And it is a feature on the sports site SB Nation. Its creator, Jon Bois, is the Dr. Frankenstein of Madden. For the last two seasons, he's adjusted the controls on the players and teams to hilarious and sometimes pretty creepy effects. Bois created Clarence Beeftank, a five-foot, 400-pound quarterback. He protected Peyton Manning with a 160-pound lineman. He tried to have the Seattle Seahawks score a thousand points in the Super Bowl, which completely destroyed the game. Suddenly, there was this weird totem that appeared on the screen, and it just crashed everything. Two weeks ago, he tried to have Brett Favre break Manning's career passing record by throwing 511 touchdown passes in one game - didn't work. The genius on the pleasure isn't just the absurdity in all of this, but in subverting the super seriousness of the NFL. And I love the episode where he made a punter the best player on the field. I thought that was pretty great.

SIEGEL: Are you sure any of the linemen protecting Peyton Manning aren't 160 pounds?

FATSIS: (Laughing) I don't know if protecting was the right word in the case of this Madden spoof.

SIEGEL: OK. Stefan Fatsis, panelist on Slate's podcast "Hang Up And Listen," joins us on Fridays to talk about sports and the business of sports. Stefan, have a great weekend.

FATSIS: You too, Robert. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.