ABC News has obtained court records of a grievance filed by Colin Kaepernick accusing the NFL of collusion and declaring President Trump is "an organizing force" in his ongoing free agency. During a day noted for a marked decline in players kneeling in protest, a trend Kaepernick started last year as a member of the San Francisco 49ers to protest police brutality and racial inequality, the grievance revelations exploded across the internet this afternoon.
The Hill reported that the grievance obtained by ABC alleges:
Multiple NFL head coaches and general managers stated that they wanted to sign Mr. Kaepernick, only to mysteriously go silent with no explanation and no contract offer made to Mr. Kaepernick. Other NFL teams stated they had no interest in Mr. Kaepernick and refused to explain why.
The court filings also mention President Trump’s comments at a rally in Alabama last month, in which he referred to NFL players who kneel during the anthem as “sons of bitches.”
Additionally and according to The Hill's report, Kaepernick’s complaint says Trump and Vice President Mike Pence “engaged in various public relations stunts designed to retaliate against Mr. Kaepernick and other players that have joined in Kaepernick’s peaceful protest.” The complaint calls Trump “an organizing force in the collusion among team owners in their conduct towards” Kaepernick, and claims NFL owners have described Trump’s administration as “causing paradigm shifts in their views toward NFL players.”
ABC confirmed the grievance filing with Dean Schabner reporting:
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has filed a grievance against the NFL, alleging the owners colluded to keep him out of the league because of his protests during the playing of the national anthem before games.
The grievance alleges the league's owners "colluded to deprive Mr. Kaepernick of employment rights in retaliation for Mr. Kaepernick's leadership and advocacy for equality and social justice." ABC reports that Kaepernick hired attorney Mark Geragos to represent him, instead of filing a grievance through the NFL Players Association.
Mike Florio, an NFL reporter at NBC, and others are already lobbying for the Green Bay Packers to sign Kaepernick to replace their injured quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
Business Insider's Tyler Lauletta wrote that it looks grim for the NFL: "The lack of offers looks even more egregious because numerous teams have been in desperate need of a functioning quarterback. E.J. Manuel, Scott Tolzien, and Matt Cassel have all started games this season, and Brandon Weeden just signed a deal with the Tennessee Titans.
Mike Murphy, an editor with Market Watch, also alluded to "Suspicions of collusion against Kaepernick" emerging as team after team ignored him over the last several months.
Oddly enough, Washington Post writer Mark Maske offered some balanced reporting on the grievance. He wrote that Kaepernick's attorney would have to prove that owners violated the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), "which prohibits teams from acting in concert to make decisions about a player’s employment or contract status. Legal experts call such cases difficult to prove." And the mere fact that teams fail to make offers to free agents does not satisfy the burden of proof of collusion.
Previously Commissioner Roger Goodell denied any blackballing of Kaepernick, saying each team makes its own player personnel decisions.
So now we have the liberal media set up to rip the president for interfering with NFL personel matters and to cheerlead for Kaepernick to succeed in this grievance.
