NFLPA Wants NFL & Commissioner Roger Goodell Held in Contempt of Court Over Adrian Peterson Case

The NFL Players Association filed a motion for the NFL, the league's management council and Commissioner Roger Goodell to be held in contempt of court after the league refused an arbitrator on the Adrian Peterson case.

According to USA Today, Judge David S. Doty granted the NFLPA's motion last February to "vacate the arbitration award that upheld Peterson's suspension" with the case being sent back to appeals officer Harold Henderson to undergo further proceedings.

In the NFLPA's motion submitted on Tuesday, the league counsel has instructed Henderson "not to act" until the NFL's appeal has been heard by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, a process which could reportedly take months.

"Significantly, the NFL has engaged in this self-help, contumacious defiance of this Court's Order without even seeking - much less obtaining - any stay of the Order pending its appeal in the Eighth Circuit," read a part of the NFLPA motion.

The association added that the league has "implored Mr. Henderson to make the same hypothetical ruling in the event he ever issues a new arbitral award" even with the existence of a ruling from Doty.

Yahoo Sports has learned that the union also slammed the delaying tactics and inconsistencies of the league that reportedly "hurt the rights of players, the credibility of the League office and the integrity of the Collective Bargaining Agreement."

"In the absence of any action by the NFL's governing board of owners, the players have acted to hold the NFL accountable to our players, the CBA and to the law," added the NFLPA.

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said that there is no basis for the action of the union.

"The district court's decision on Adrian Peterson is on appeal to the Eighth Circuit. In the meantime, Mr. Peterson was reinstated more than a month ago and he may fully participate in team activities. The remaining disciplinary issue concerns the amount of 2014 pay to be forfeited by Mr. Peterson and that issue is presently before the Court of Appeals," McCarthy added.

According to Bleacher Report, the NFLPA has also formally requested Goodell to recuse himself from the hearing of New England Patriots player Tom Brady's appeal in relation to the Deflategate scandal.

"Given a process that has contained procedural violations of our collective bargaining agreement, the commissioner's role as a central witness in the appeal hearing and his evident partiality with respect to the Wells report, the commissioner must designate a neutral party to serve as an arbitrator in this matter," the NFLPA said in a statement.

The commissioner will reportedly have the option to "uphold, reduce or eliminate" Brady's suspension. If the suspension of the Patriots quarterback will be upheld, he will not be able to play until his team's game against the Indianapolis Colts for Week 6.