As an NFL offensive lineman, Eric Winston helped pave the way for star running backs Arian Foster in Houston and Jamaal Charles in Kansas City. Now, Winston is helping lead the way off the field for Vikings star runner Adrian Peterson.

The president of the NFL Players Association is outspoken in his support of Peterson, who claims he has been unfairly suspended by the NFL, a November ruling in effect until at least April 15.

The NFLPA has sued the league for Peterson’s immediate reinstatement, and a hearing will be held Friday in federal court in Minneapolis.

“We’re going to step up and we’re going to make sure that (Peterson) gets his day in court, that he gets his shake and he’s going to be heard,” Winston said. “That’s what this is all about.”

Peterson officially was suspended six games after pleading no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault in a child abuse case that started as a felony. But the Vikings’ all-time leading rusher, who admitted hitting his 4-year-old son last May with a wooden switch, missed the final 15 games of the 2014 season.

“We’re always going to defend our guys if they feel like their rights have been violated, and Adrian feels like his rights have been violated,” Winston said.

Peterson missed one game because he was deactivated by the Vikings and eight while on the commissioner’s “exempt list” while his case was handled legally.

Peterson lost an appeal through the NFL, and the Players Association quickly answered with a lawsuit filed in December.

Winston said the players union opposes the manner in which NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Peterson and questions the legitimacy of the appeal process. At the heart of the union’s argument is its belief that Goodell violated the 2011 collective bargaining agreement when he unilaterally modified the league’s personal conduct policy regarding domestic violence.

Peterson is the first player punished using those modifications.

“It’s important that he’s reinstated as soon as possible because it’s fair, because it’s the right thing to do,” Winston said. “That’s the tough part, that our guys have such short runways (in their careers). … It was done to purposely hold him out, whether the facts were correct or not. That’s what really irks me.

“It’s not a misinterpretation of some rule or whatever; it’s, ‘We’re going to make up these rules or we’re going to make up these facts and then we’re going to present them, and that’s why we’re going to suspend the guy. And if we’re proven wrong later, then we still kind of got our way.’ … That’s why we don’t trust (the NFL).”

Winston said he does not believe the NFL suitably researched facts in Peterson’s case. The presiding judge sealed the case after sentencing Nov. 4, and Peterson was asked to provide relevant investigatory background.

NFL senior vice president of communications Greg Aiello wrote in an email that the league has no comment on the Peterson case.

Peterson’s hearing will be heard by U.S. District Judge David Doty, who has ruled in a number of disputes involving the NFL. Players association executive director DeMaurice Smith said he doesn’t know when a ruling will be issued.

“I will not be there (Friday),” Smith said. “Our lawyers will be there, and they don’t let me practice anymore. If I show up, all I’m going to do is get mad.”

Peterson lost six game checks totaling $4.15 million last season, but Winston said he’s “not just doing it to get (his) money back; he believes he’s been wronged.”

Regarding Goodell requiring Peterson to undergo NFL-approved counseling and a treatment program before being reinstated, Winston said that’s “not in their place to do that, and that’s not within the CBA.”

One important reason for Peterson wanting to be reinstated quickly is that the league’s new year begins March 10. If teams are able to sign free agents and make trades for a month before Peterson is reinstated, it could hamper his future if the Vikings don’t want to keep him.

Peterson, who turns 30 next month, is under contract next season for $12.75 million, but none of it guaranteed. Many believe he has played his last game for Minnesota.

Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater said last week that he wants Peterson back next season. Arizona star wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, a Minneapolis native, said earlier this week that he believes Peterson has served his penalty and should be reinstated.

Hall of fame wide receiver Michael Irvin took a more measured approach when asked about Peterson. Irvin had a number of problems during his career, including being suspended by the NFL for the first five games of 1996 for a drug-related issue.

“I’m a guy that believes in second chances,” Irvin said. “I certainly believe he should have a chance to resume his world and his life. … I want to see Adrian Peterson right now get things situated and get his life back on track.

“I feel for this man having to spend the rest of his life with people considering him a child abuser. But at the same time, you have got to feel for the kids that are involved in these situations, so it’s just a tough situation.”

While Peterson has gone to court, hall of fame running back Marshall Faulk said it’s important to note that the NFL can have a different standard for players. Faulk does not have an issue with that as it relates to Peterson.

“The commissioner decides what punishment he sees fit for whatever’s done,” Faulk said. “Whatever laws there are in life then you deal with. The world of the NFL is sometimes different than the laws of the world. … The league holds you to a different standard. When you think, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s doing his time (from the courts), it should be OK,’ well, you have to take into consideration the league has their own ideas if it’s right and if it should be time for (Peterson) to come back.”

Follow Chris Tomasson at twitter.com/christomasson.