Arbitrator Believes Sufficient Evidence of Collusion, Sends Kaepernick Grievance to Trial

Colin Kaepernick and his legal team are driving inside NFL territory, forcing the league and its 32 teams to brace for a defensive stand.

An arbitrator is sending Kaepernick’s grievance with the NFL to trial, denying the league’s request to throw out the quarterback’s claims that owners have conspired to keep him out of the league because of his national anthem protests.

Kaepernick’s lawyer, Mark Geragos, tweeted a picture Thursday of a ruling by arbitrator Stephen B. Burbank.

Breaking news @Kaepernick7 pic.twitter.com/mAYhkRKwB9

— Mark Geragos (@markgeragos) August 30, 2018

The NFL declined a request for comment.

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Kaepernick, who led the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance and NFC championship game in consecutive seasons before his career took a sharp downturn, argues that owners have colluded to keep him off any NFL roster since he hit free agency in 2017.

Burbank’s decision means there was sufficient evidence of collusion to keep Kaepernick’s drive going.

Now some owners, coaches and team executives will be called to testify during the season, a situation the league hoped to avoid.

Kaepernick began a wave of protests by NFL players two seasons ago, sitting on the bench during the national anthem before a preseason game. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” he said at the time.

The protests have grown into one of the most polarizing issues in sports, with NFL ratings falling each of the past two seasons as many fans say they are boycotting the league.

Kaepernick claims the owners violated their collective bargaining agreement with players by conspiring to keep him off teams.

The case hinges on whether owners worked together rather than decided individually to not sign Kaepernick.

A similar grievance is still pending by unsigned safety Eric Reid, who played with Kaepernick in San Francisco and joined in the protests.

Meanwhile, with the first game of the 2018 season less than a week away, the league and players union still haven’t agreed on a policy for national anthem protests.

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In May, the NFL announced a policy requiring players to stand if they are on the sideline during the national anthem but allowing them to stay off the field if they wish.

But the league and union put that on hold in July.

“The NFL and NFLPA, through recent discussions, have been working on a resolution to the anthem issue,” they said in a joint statement at the time. “In order to allow this constructive dialogue to continue, we have come to a standstill agreement on the NFLPA’s grievance and on the NFL’s anthem policy. No new rules relating to the anthem will be issued or enforced for the next several weeks while these confidential discussions are ongoing.”

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