Ray Rice to appeal, Adrian Peterson to play as NFL wraps up one of its worst weeks

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Monday night ends week two of the NFL season, but the off-the-field controversies aren't showing any sign of going away.

Now, there's word that the Ray Rice sage could add another layer.

ESPN reports that Rice will appeal his indefinite suspension for his domestic violence incident with his then-fiance.

The NFL upgraded the suspension from two games to indefinite after video of Rice punching Janay Rice went public.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings were without star running back Adrian Peterson for Sunday's game against the New England Patriots, but they announced Monday that he has been reinstated and will rejoin the team for Sunday's game against New Orleans.

Peterson is under indictment on a child abuse charge after being accused of beating his 4-year-old son. He is free on bond.

Peterson said Monday he is not a child abuser and wants "everyone to understand how sorry I feel about the hurt I have brought to my child."

"I am not a perfect son. I am not a perfect husband. I am not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser," Peterson said in a nearly 500-word statement issued through his agency. "I am someone that disciplined his child and did not intend to cause him any injury."

Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said they had decided to bring back Peterson "after significant thought, discussion and consideration." The Wilfs said they want to let the legal process play out before making any more definitive decisions on Peterson's future.

The NFL has not commented publicly on his situation.

CLICK HERE for more on the Adrian Peterson situation from ESPN.

Next, Carolina Panthers' defensive star Greg Hardy also missed Sunday's action.

He was declared inactive in the wake of his conviction for assaulting and threatening his ex-girlfriend.

Hardy is appealing the case.

He played in week one, but Carolina's head coach cited a change in culture in the league as the reason for keeping him off the field.

The NFL has not disciplined Hardy.

It was all part of one of the NFL's worst weeks ever.

In the span of five days, America's favorite sport bombarded fans with a video of one player punching his wife, details about a former MVP hitting his son with a tree branch, reminders of two more lingering domestic violence cases - all being overseen by a commissioner, Roger Goodell, who has looked ill-suited to handle any of it.

Friday also brought news that speaks to the oversized violence of the game: One story about a study that showed nearly three in 10 ex-players face Alzheimer's or moderate dementia; and another about the long-awaited implementation of a policy to test for human growth hormone.

Both those items might have been front-page news some weeks. Instead, they were virtual afterthoughts, while a sampling of some of headlines read: "Goodell's Watergate," ''Goodell Shows Again that the NFL has Sold its Soul," ''Protect the Shield or Cover His Butt?"

"As unusual a week as I can remember in 40 years around the NFL," agent Leigh Steinberg said. "What should have been as positive a week as they have, with opening weekend and a lot of good games, turned into a destructive minefield of negativity."

The league said Monday that three experts in domestic violence will serve as consultants to the NFL.

Goodell sent a memo to teams announcing that Lisa Friel, Jane Randel and Rita Smith will work as "senior advisers." They will "help lead and shape the NFL's policies and programs relating to domestic violence and sexual assault," he wrote.

The league has also hired former FBI director Robert Mueller to look into the NFL's handling of the case. Meanwhile, a poll commissioned by ESPN found 55 percent of 544 adults surveyed believe Goodell was lying about not having seen the video.

"The mistake Roger Goodell makes is that, if this is just an ESPN story, then it stays a sports story," says sports agent Evan Morgenstein. "The fact that I turned on TV and it's the first story on 'Morning Joe' is a problem. You've got mainstream America, women and moms, discussing topics they'd never discuss in the past."

They'll have more chances to discuss.

The National Organization for Women is calling for Goodell's ouster. So far, owners are showing support for the commissioner. On Saturday, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, whose refusal to change his team's nickname has caused a PR problem of its own, issued a statement saying the commissioner "has always had the best interests of football at heart" and "we are fortunate to have him."

Earlier in the week, former Cowboys executive Gil Brandt made it clear why that sentiment exists: "Owners not moving on from Goodell," Brandt tweeted. "Record broadcast contracts, team-friendly (collective bargaining agreement), $1bn+ franchise valuations, etc. Follow the money."

The money is the key.

"If the thing keeps spiraling and you get a boycott by sponsors, that's checkmate," Morgenstein said. "Nobody cares until the money starts getting pulled out."

But so far, that hasn't happened. And though Americans may be suspicious of Goodell, they show no signs of turning off the TV.

The CBS broadcast of "Thursday Night Football," featuring the embattled Ravens against the Steelers, drew more than 20 million viewers. Much of the fanfare prepared for the broadcast was toned down, in deference to the news surrounding the game. CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus said, "It's important to realize we are not overacting to this story, but it is as big a story as has faced the NFL."

And while it's hardly the first time the NFL has dealt with tough issues, in the span of a week, the league's well-oiled PR machine has lost control of the message.

"I don't think any of this stuff is going away," said Orin Starn, a Duke professor who studies sports in society. "It's part of the sports news cycle. You get the scores, the profiles of players, the latest cheating cycle. I see this as more of the same. A bad week for the NFL, rather than some new development."