Yeah I think everyone can agree there are no winners in these situations no matter what course is taken. A more formal and agreed upon policy would be good, as long as it doesn't hamstring the league depending on specific circumstances or which way the social winds are blowing over time. The popularity of the game is at an all-time high I'd say but pile a few major catastrophic events related to the violent physical nature of the game like increasing evidence of long-term brain damage to players, another Darrell Stanley/Barrett Robbins incident or two, along with declining youth participation...,

The NFL obviously leans overwhelmingly black relative to the population at large. Some civil unrest that spills into/involves the NFL and one or more high-profile players. Who knows what could happen but the league needs flexibility to protect itself and the huge financial benefits to playing are pretty strong motivators for the players to rally around while the temptation to leave those who find themselves in legal trouble to fend for themselves (It'll never happen to me) are probably overwhelming to the players as a whole.

Maybe a false indictment or a gross error by the league will change that but I don't think the Peterson situation even comes close to that.