NFL players union appeals Rice assault suspension

 The NFL Players Union appealed the indefinite suspension meted out to Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice after video showed him punching his fiancee.
The players' union said the action "is to protect the due process rights of all NFL players."
A statement from the union said the appeal "is based on supporting facts that reveal a lack of a fair and impartial process, including the role of the office of the Commissioner of the NFL."
The NFLPA has asked that a neutral and jointly selected arbitrator hear the case "as the Commissioner and his staff will be essential witnesses in the proceeding and thus cannot serve as impartial arbitrators."
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell initially banned Rice for two games over the February incident in a casino elevator, prompting criticism from activists combating domestic violence.
He imposed the harsher punishment in August after the video of the actual punch delivered by Rice to Janay Palmer -- who is now his wife -- was posted online by TMZ.
His indefinite suspension came shortly after the Ravens sacked Rice as public outrage grew over the video.
One argument of the appeal is that an employee can't be punished twice by his employer for the same offense, "when all of the relevant facts were available to the employer at the time of the first punishment."
When Goodell announced the indefinite suspension of Rice, he said he hadn't seen the video of the punch, which he said showed details substantially different from the account Rice gave of what happened in the elevator when he spoke to Goodell about the incident.
Goodell says no one at the NFL saw the video, although reports that the video was sent to the NFL prompted the league to have an independent investigator, former FBI director Robert Mueller, look into the matter.
Rice avoided jail time on domestic violence charges by agreeing in May to a pre-trial intervention program.
But the entire affair has prompted calls for Goodell to step down, despite his efforts at damage control with a new league policy on domestic violence offenders.
The new rules include a six-game suspension for a first violation and indefinite bans for repeat offenders with no possible reinstatement for at least one year and the possibility lifetime ban.
On Monday, Goodell announced the league was hiring three domestic violence experts as senior advisors and creating a new vice president of social responsibility post.
Rice's case isn't the only one that has the league under scrutiny.
The Carolina Panthers' Greg Hardy is appealing his conviction for assaulting a former girlfriend, while San Francisco 49ers defensive end Ray McDonald is facing charges of striking his pregnant girlfriend.
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is also enbroiled in a family violence matter. He has been charged of child abuse in Texas after whipping his small son with a "switch' cut from a tree so that the child bore visible injuries days later.