A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said the National Football League was within its rights to suspend Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in a child assault case, handing the league a new legal victory in disciplining its star players. Reversing a lower court ruling, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Paul, Minnesota, said league-appointed arbitrator Harold Henderson acted within his authority in upholding sanctions imposed by Commissioner Roger Goodell. Peterson missed six games after being suspended indefinitely and fined six weeks salary, following his no-contest plea to a misdemeanor charge for disciplining his 4-year-old son with a switch in May 2014.
