The NFL announced this morning that it is suspending Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson without pay for at least the remainder of this season, ESPN reported.
The earliest possible reinstatement date for Peterson is April 15, 2015, following what the NFL believes to be a violation of the league's personal conduct policy.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Peterson will immediately appeal the suspension.
Peterson was placed on the NFL's exempt list in September following a physical disciplinary incident with his 4-year-old son. He was indicted later that month on a felony charge of injury to a child for using a branch to strike his son. Peterson reached a plea deal with Texas prosecutors in which he pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of misdemeanor reckless assault earlier this month.
Speculation that the NFL was going to suspend Peterson had been made public recently. The league cited "an incident of abusive discipline that he inflicted on his four-year-old son" as the motivating factor behind the decision in a statement.
The statement also revealed excerpts from a letter that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell wrote about Peterson that noted many of the options the league will provide to him for counseling and treatment.
"We are prepared to put in place a program that can help you to succeed, but no program can succeed without your genuine and continuing engagement," Goodell wrote in the letter. "You must commit yourself to your counseling and rehabilitative effort, properly care for your children, and have no further violations of law or league policy."
Popular columnist Bill Simmons of Grantland had this to say when asked if the Vikings should release Peterson:
"I'm a big believer in second chances if they're earned, so no. I'd rather see the Vikings work with Peterson to become an advocate against child abuse, much like how Michael Vick raised so much awareness for animal abuse. Peterson could have an impact if he wanted to have one. Does he now understand that he went way, way, WAY overboard in disciplining his son? I sure hope so. Does he now understand that it's not a good idea to whip your 4-year-old? I sure hope so. If he's not interested in learning from his mistakes, or figuring out how those mistakes could help other people ... then, and only then, would I release him. Who wants to root for someone like that?"