The NFL has issued the following statement regarding the ruling by Hennepin County Judge Gary Larson that allows Minnesota Vikings defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams to avoid having to serve their four-game suspensions while they file their appeals with the State Court of Appeals.

"Today’s decision does not change the fact that every court has rejected the players’ claims and upheld the operation of the policy. We are confident the state appellate court will do the same. The alleged ‘public policy’ and ‘failure to warn’ issues identified in today’s decision were fully litigated and resolved in the league’s favor by two federal courts last year. There is no basis in our view for now re-introducing those issues of federal law at this stage of the case."