Kaepernick Files Grievance Against NFL, Citing Collusion

Former San Francisco 49’s quarterback Colin Kaepernick is suing the National Football League and its 32 owners on cause of collusion for leading a protest in 2016 and kneeling during the US national anthem.

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"We can confirm that this morning we filed a grievance under the CBA on behalf of Colin Kaepernick," the athlete’s attorney Mark Geragos said in a statement published on Twitter. "This was done only after pursuing every possible avenue with all NFL teams and their executives.”

Since his decision to leave the 49’s and become a free agent earlier this year, the ex-NFL player has remained without employment, despite his efforts to reach out to all 32 teams to ensure they were aware of his situation and desire to play, Kaepernick said.

Sports Illustrated explains that collusion occurs within the NFL, “when two or more teams, or the league and at least one team, join to deprive a player of a contractually earned right.”

The sports magazine went on to say that usually the right to a contract is found within a collective bargaining agreement which would be signed by both a sports league and its players' association.

“For example, the right of a free-agent player to negotiate a contract with a team cannot be impaired by a conspiracy of teams to deny that a player a chance to sign.”

The NFL denies Kaepernick is the subject of any team collusion, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told ESPN.

However, in view of the player’s extensive and impressive track record, many say that is exactly the case.

Following the highly controversial protest which began almost a year ago when Kaepernick decided to make a stand against police brutality and racism in the United States by first sitting, then kneeling during the national anthem prior to every game.

His actions of last year have recently seen a revival as hundreds of professional athletes as well as their fans, team managers, and owners from the NFL, NBA, and MLB “took a knee” bringing down harsh criticism on their “unpatriotic” behavior from the U.S. President Donald Trump, NFL corporate owners, and members of the public.

Trump has openly criticized the athletes, demanding that the NFL fire any who refuse to respect the nation’s patriotic customs. Others defended the peaceful protest, citing a U.S. citizen’s right to freedom of speech.

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"If the NFL (as well as all professional sports leagues) is to remain a meritocracy,” Geragos said in his statement Monday, “Then principled and peaceful political protests - which the owners themselves made great theater imitating weeks ago - should not be punished and athletes should not be denied employment based on partisan political provocation by the Executive Branch of our government.”

"Such a precedent threatens all patriotic Americans and harkens back to our darkest days as a nation. Protecting all athletes from such collusive conduct is what compelled Mr. Kaepernick to file his grievance,” the attorney added.

“Colin Kaepernick's goal has always been, and remains, to simply be treated fairly by the league he performed at the highest level for and to return to the football playing field," he said.

Geragos has made his career handling sensitive cases for Michael Jackson, Chris Brown and Winona Ryder. Experts say Kaepernick stands to win as much as US$30 million.