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    Kaepernick Sues NFL Over Collusion To Deny Him Employment

    Colin Kaepernick has launched a $30 million lawsuit alleging that the NFL owners colluded to deny him employment. He also aims to terminate the current NFL collective bargaining agreement with the players. This will be very much an uphill fight because his lawyers will have to provide proof of collusion in the form of documents and/or witnesses, not simply evidence that he is much better than many NFL QBs, and, even then, his lawyers will have to out-argue the very highly paid NFL lawyers.

    Criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos, Kaepernick’s lawyer, confirmed the news in a statement later on Sunday. Gregaros said the suit was only filed “after pursuing every possible avenue with all NFL teams and their executives.”
    This lawsuit could literally be a game-changer, not just for Kaepernick, but for the labor rights of all NFL players. He is hoping to trigger termination of the currentcollective bargaining agreement (CBA), which was signed on 2011 and is set to expire in 2021, by proving that the NFL-at-large conspired to keep him out of the league.

    The CBA has been widely panned because it gives management, particularly NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, an unwieldy amount of power. If Kaepernick is successful in his suit, it would force NFL owners back to the table in 2018 — and give the NFL players a more powerful bargaining position than they’ve had in recent memory.
    https://thinkprogress.org/colin-kaep...-6fe635e3caf2/

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    The final nail in the coffin for Kaepernick's NFL career, fighting the big NFL machine will be next to impossible.
    Toronto Argonauts
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    Quote Originally Posted by Argo57 View Post
    The final nail in the coffin for Kaepernick's NFL career, fighting the big NFL machine will be next to impossible.
    IF any CFL team would be lucky enough to sign Kap, or Johnny Football for that matter, they could start planning GC Parade routes for years to come.

    Kap would have to understand that Canadians are too polite to protest however, plus be good with making less than NFL minimum wage up here.

    Jimmy P is working the phones & his contacts as we speak - get er' done.

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    Amnesty International has given Kaepernick its highest award for fighting against racial injustice.

    Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has received Amnesty International's highest honour for his protests against racial injustice.
    The human rights organisation said Kaepernick "chooses to speak out and inspire others despite the professional and personal risks". ...

    Kaepernick received Amnesty's Ambassador of Conscience Award, which recognises "individuals who have promoted and enhanced the cause of human rights through their lives and by example".
    https://www.bbc.com/sport/american-football/43853097

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    Seattle's current backups are Austin Davis who has started 10 games in six years with the last one being in 2015 and last year, his first with Seattle, got on the field for one QB sneak and no passes, and Stephen Morris who has been on the PR of four teams without ever having been considered good enough to play in a game.

    After cancelling a scheduled workout for Kaepernick when he refused to agree not to kneel during the American National anthem, Seattle is now saying they may give him a workout, depending on what happens during the NFL draft. Is Seattle and the NFL starting to worry about losing Kaepernick's $30 million dollar lawsuit and the resulting blowback among Blacks and with the international recognition he is getting? Are they interested in Kaepernick or is this just a game so they can go into court saying they have considered offering him a job.

    Pete Carroll said Monday the Seahawks have not closed the door on the possibility of adding Colin Kaepernick to their roster, but how much further they pursue it may depend on the upcoming NFL draft.
    Reports surfaced earlier this month that Seattle pulled out of a planned workout for Kaepernick, who has been without an NFL team since the end of the 2016 season. Seattle has been one of the few teams to show any interest in Kaepernick following his protests during the national anthem in the 2016 season with San Francisco. ...

    Whether Seattle revisits Kaepernick may be answered during this week’s draft and if the Seahawks invest a draft pick in a quarterback for the first time since selecting Russell Wilson in the 2012 draft. Seattle has signed backups Stephen Morris and Austin Davis this offseason.
    https://nypost.com/2018/04/23/colin-...on-this-draft/

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    Wonder if Kapernick would get the same treatment if he was caught carrying an AR15 as opposed to kneeling for the anthem. He'd probably be ok to play if that was the case. Utterly ridiculous.
    It's us vs the rest of the country

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    I don't understand the economics of this. Could an NFL owner actually lose a meaningful amount of money by signing or playing Kaepernick? The fat TV contract wouldn't be affected, and even if a lot of fans followed through on threats to stop buying tickets (which I doubt), there is excess demand in most markets. It seems quite possible that he just isn't well regarded any more.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Wobbler View Post
    I don't understand the economics of this. Could an NFL owner actually lose a meaningful amount of money by signing or playing Kaepernick? The fat TV contract wouldn't be affected, and even if a lot of fans followed through on threats to stop buying tickets (which I doubt), there is excess demand in most markets. It seems quite possible that he just isn't well regarded any more.
    My opinion, but I believe this is nothing more than to use OV's phrase, a bunch of Good ole boy Billionaires, that are buddies with the biggest knob of a president of all time, saying they aren't going to let this black man stand for what he believes in on their watches. It's ridiculous.
    It's us vs the rest of the country

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    Quote Originally Posted by AngeloV View Post
    My opinion, but I believe this is nothing more than to use OV's phrase, a bunch of Good ole boy Billionaires, that are buddies with the biggest knob of a president of all time, saying they aren't going to let this black man stand for what he believes in on their watches. It's ridiculous.
    Couldn't disagree more.

    You have a cause for which you want to fight/promote?
    Fine.
    Do it on your own time in your own place.
    Don't bring your politics or cause to work.

    As for collusion, I don't see any upside for any team to bring in a guy who insists on using a team's workplace to promote his personal cause(s) - no, not even the possibility of winning more games - so there doesn't have to be collusion among the owners. CK's lack of employment is due to the controversial/divisive nature of what he is doing, and no owner should want a part of that.

    To be clear, it is not the cause for which he is fighting that is the problem, it is the tactic and place that he uses that is the problem. Don't confuse the two.

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    Quote Originally Posted by AngeloV View Post
    My opinion, but I believe this is nothing more than to use OV's phrase, a bunch of Good ole boy Billionaires, that are buddies with the biggest knob of a president of all time, saying they aren't going to let this black man stand for what he believes in on their watches. It's ridiculous.
    Maybe a little of both. There are probably some teams who really don't think he'd help them, and then some owners who have an... old-fashioned view of patriotism, let's say.

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    Quote Originally Posted by PullTogether73 View Post
    Couldn't disagree more.

    You have a cause for which you want to fight/promote?
    Fine.
    Do it on your own time in your own place.
    Don't bring your politics or cause to work.

    As for collusion, I don't see any upside for any team to bring in a guy who insists on using a team's workplace to promote his personal cause(s) - no, not even the possibility of winning more games - so there doesn't have to be collusion among the owners. CK's lack of employment is due to the controversial/divisive nature of what he is doing, and no owner should want a part of that.

    To be clear, it is not the cause for which he is fighting that is the problem, it is the tactic and place that he uses that is the problem. Don't confuse the two.

    Actually, the problem is more complicated than you suggest.

    As noted in the video accompanying the following article, the NFL agreed in its collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in 2009 that players have the right to protest. The NFL confirmed this right in 2016 and reiterated it in 2017. This right is meaningless if NFL teams can avoid hiring players on that basis. The CBA also contains a clause barring teams from colluding to impose discipline on a player.
    The Seahawks may have been working with the rest of the league to make Kaepernick's lawsuit go away by reaching a settlement allowing him to play if he did not kneel during the anthem again or they may have simply been making the offer in the hope that it would help win the collusion arbitration case. On the other hand, Seattle has accepted players who were outspoken in the past and may have been more willing to accept him until pressure from other teams or the league office overruled this.
    The reason they need an experienced backup is illustrative in itself. They have been quite willing to accept other players with much more severe, even criminal, problems in the past. Their #1 backup QB, Trevor Boykin, was kept despite repeated criminal activity until the MeToo movement made this untenable.

    The Seahawks needed a backup after cutting Trevone Boykin over a domestic violence incident. Before the domestic violence accusation, Boykin was with the Seahawks two seasons despite separate arrests on drug charges and resisting arrest after a bar fight that got him suspended from TCU’s bowl game. Kaepernick has no known arrests.
    The Seahawks, who once drafted defensive end Frank Clark after he was arrested for a domestic violence accusation and kept Clark after he injured a teammate in a practice fight.
    https://sports.yahoo.com/seahawks-si...140726239.html

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    When it comes to what is allowed in terms of protests, American Constitutional law, labor and civil rights legislation, as well the NFL player's union Collective Bargaining Agreement all provide significant protection to a player.

    A confluence of bedrock laws are on the players’ side. Stifling the protests would be illegal.
    Start with the Constitution. Under the First Amendment, which protects free speech and free association, the president of the United States could not enforce a law that, say, required football players to stand during the anthem. During World War II, the Supreme Court struck down such a demand for a flag salute during the Pledge of Allegiance. ...

    But it’s not just the Constitution that protects here, because the players also have rights as workers, rights they have been asserting both through the original protest and to rebuff the backlash. The New Deal of the 1930s and the civil rights movement of the 1960s saw landmark laws passed to bring into the private-sector workplace many of the constitutional values that constrain government action. These values include not only free expression and association but also the race and gender equality of the Equal Protection Clause and the 13th Amendment’s commitment to race and labor freedom. One leading example of these laws is the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII of which bars race discrimination by private employers. ...

    Title VII protects workers from retaliation when they oppose what they reasonably perceive to be race discrimination, even if someone else can reasonably disagree and even if a court ultimately sides with the skeptic. ...

    Finally, there is labor law, passed during the Great Depression to reorder work and balance power between management and employees. The National Labor Relations Act protects employees who engage in “concerted activity for mutual aid and protection.” This covers not only union activity but also employees’ political advocacy around issues that affect their lives as employees. ...

    The anthem protests are exactly this kind of advocacy, for three reasons. First, when black players protest police violence directed at African-Americans, they are targeting something that can impact their work lives even if it transpires off the field. Second, the N.F.L.’s contract with its players repeatedly asserts that their job involves more than what happens on the field. Having defined the job as a public one, the N.F.L. must accept that players’ public advocacy cannot be cordoned off from their role as employees. Third, many anthem protesters are now taking a knee to support teammates threatened with discipline, an act of solidarity at the core of labor law’s protection.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/o...-protests.html


    In the case of the NFL, the Collective Bargaining Agreement offers further protection to players. Although Kaepernick, because he is the plaintiff in the collusion case must provide the burden of proof to show that collusion occurred, has the right to depose the NFL owners, which has already begun, to look at team emails and other club information to support his case.

    As part of the CBA, NFL players sign a Standard PlayerContract for a term of one or more years.74 During the life of this contract,a team may only remove a player from its roster if his “skill or performancehas been unsatisfactory as compared with that of other players competingfor positions” or, arguably, if the player has “engaged in personal conductreasonably judged by [a team] to adversely affect or reflect on [theteam].”75 However, language in the CBA, which takes precedence over theNFL Standard Player Contract,76 limits the maximum penalty an NFL teammay impose for “conduct detrimental to [an NFL club]” to a four-gamesuspension and a fine equivalent to one week’s salary.77
    In addition, the CBA also includes an “Anti-Collusion” clause, whichstipulates that no NFL club shall enter into any agreement with the leagueor any club as to whether to offer a contract to a particular player.78Pursuant to the CBA’s “Anti-Collusion” clause, NFL teams are prohibitedfrom jointly imposing discipline on a player and from creating a blacklist ofplayers with whom the teams collectively choose not to negotiate. ...


    Even if one were to presume that protesting during thenational anthem could constitute “conduct detrimental to an NFL club,”there is still a very strong argument that a team could not impose more thana “fine of an amount equal to one week’s salary and/or suspension withoutpay for a period not to exceed four (4) weeks.”82 The CBA explicitly notesthat, in the context of a conflict between language in the CBA and that inthe Standard Player Agreement, it is the CBA language that holdssuperseding weight. ...


    If an unsigned NFL player believes that his lack of employmentis due to an agreement among teams not to sign him,87 the player mayattempt to allege a violation of the “Anti-Collusion” clause in the CBA.88At the time of publishing this Article, former NFL quarterback Kaepernickhad just filed a labor grievance against the thirty-two NFL teams, allegingthat his unemployment resulted from collusion among the thirty-two NFL. ...


    For Kaepernick or a similarly-situated player to prevail on a laborgrievance of this nature, there would be a need for the grievant to produceactual evidence of an agreement among the NFL teams and not simplyevidence of consciously-parallel behavior.90 Gaining such evidence wouldrequire the grievant to engage in extensive discovery under the CBA’sinternal discovery process.
    https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery...006024&EXT=pdf

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    Quote Originally Posted by PullTogether73 View Post
    Couldn't disagree more.

    You have a cause for which you want to fight/promote?
    Fine.
    Do it on your own time in your own place.
    Don't bring your politics or cause to work.

    As for collusion, I don't see any upside for any team to bring in a guy who insists on using a team's workplace to promote his personal cause(s) - no, not even the possibility of winning more games - so there doesn't have to be collusion among the owners. CK's lack of employment is due to the controversial/divisive nature of what he is doing, and no owner should want a part of that.

    To be clear, it is not the cause for which he is fighting that is the problem, it is the tactic and place that he uses that is the problem. Don't confuse the two.
    You're entitled to your opinion. I'm of the opinion that I am 100% correct on this and feel you are totally underestimating the views of the owners down there.
    It's us vs the rest of the country

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    Former Pro Bowler safety Eric Reid has become the second player to charge NFL owners with collusion. Like Kaepernick, he has filed a grievance with the NFL Players Association that will go to arbitration using the same attorneys as Kaepernick.

    Veteran safety Eric Reid has filed a grievance against the NFL, charging owners with colluding to keep him unemployed while other free agents are finding work this offseason. Reid has said that his decision to protest during the national anthem is the reason teams are steering clear of him. Reid, a former Pro Bowler, has been among the most prominent football players to kneel during the anthem, as a form of protest against racial injustice and police brutality. Even after Colin Kaepernick failed to find work last season, Reid continued taking a knee as a member of the 49ers.
    Though he's expressed a willingness to stand during the anthem this season, Reid remains unsigned nearly two months into free agency....


    The NFL declined to comment through a spokesman, citing the confidentially clause of the CBA regarding such a grievance.
    Kaepernick addressed Reid's continued unemployment speaking last month at the Amnesty International Honors in Amsterdam, where Reid presented his former teammate with an award.
    "Eric introducing me for this prestigious award brings me great joy," Kaepernick said. "But I am also pained by the fact that his taking a knee, and demonstrating courage to protect the rights of black and brown people in America, has also led to his ostracization from the NFL when he is widely recognized as one of the best competitors in the game and in the prime of his career."
    The 26-year old Reid has been a starter in 69 of the 70 NFL games he's played since the 49ers made him a first-round draft pick in 2013. While Kaepernick has drawn the bulk of the attention — not to mention President Donald Trump's ire — for his decision to protest, Reid was alongside him throughout the 2016 regular season. ...


    "This is not about the military," he told reporters following one game last season, "this is not about the flag, this is not about the anthem. My mother served in the armed forces. Three of my uncles served in the armed forces. In fact, my mom would have went to the Persian Gulf War if she wasn't pregnant with me. I have the utmost respect for the military, for the anthem, for the flag. So I will say that every time y'all interview me. This is about systemic oppression that has been rampant in this country for decades on top of decades. And I will continue to say and encourage people to educate themselves of how we got to where are today, because it didn't happen overnight. And it's not going to happen overnight to fix these issues, so we're going to keep talking about it."
    http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports...502-story.html

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    Quote Originally Posted by AngeloV View Post
    You're entitled to your opinion. I'm of the opinion that I am 100% correct on this and feel you are totally underestimating the views of the owners down there.
    The CFL’s history of giving QB’s a chance based on skill instead of exclusion based solely on skin colour allowed the likes of Bernie Custis, Chuck Ealey, Condredge Holloway, Warren Moon, Roy DeWalt etc a chance to display their skills without prejudice is only one of many reasons the CFL is the best North American football league!
    Toronto Argonauts
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    Quote Originally Posted by Argo57 View Post
    The CFL’s history of giving QB’s a chance based on skill instead of exclusion based solely on skin colour allowed the likes of Bernie Custis, Chuck Ealey, Condredge Holloway, Warren Moon, Roy DeWalt etc a chance to display their skills without prejudice is only one of many reasons the CFL is the best North American football league!
    100% agree with this. I remember the way Randall Cunningham had to prove himself when he first played for the Eagles. They would put him in on 3rd and 10+ yard situations to take advantage of his athleticism. He proved himself, but man did he take a pounding which I'm sure wasn't great for his career. It's no wonder he burnt out. Luckily he was able to get a 2nd wind when he wound up in Minnesota. Buddy Ryan was such an idiot.
    It's us vs the rest of the country

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    Quote Originally Posted by AngeloV View Post
    Buddy Ryan was such an idiot.
    Definitely when it came to offensive football.

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    A number of NFL owners, GMs and coaches have been deposed in the Kaepernick lawsuit. Since this involves testifying under oath, lying under these circumstances could result in a charge of perjury. I suspect that the NFL may reach an out-of-court settlement in the long run as the $30 million asked for in the lawsuit is chicken feed to the NFL compared to the problems generated by the lawsuit, the issue of the national anthem, and dealing with the NFL Players Association over violating the Collective Bargaining Agreement. However, as with most legal matters, this will take time.

    Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones has been vocal at times in his position regarding the issue of players kneeling during the national anthem. The collusion case isn’t about his personal views, however; it’s about whether the NFL’s teams engaged in a concerted effort to avoid Kaepernick for his role at the forefront of the anthem protests.
    Again, collusion means coordination. If teams decide on their own not to pursue a player for a given reason, it’s not an issue. If coordination happens (possibly with the league office serving as the conduit) regarding the avoidance of a given player, it’s a potential violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, regardless of the precise reason for the coordination.
    Of course, that doesn’t mean Jones would be prevented from espousing his personal views about the situation during his deposition. Though the substance of his testimony isn’t known, it’s possible that he decide to speak about how the NFL got into this mess, how the NFL should have gotten out of it, and what the NFL should do about it moving forward.
    https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ion-grievance/






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    Quote Originally Posted by Argo57 View Post
    The CFL’s history of giving QB’s a chance based on skill instead of exclusion based solely on skin colour allowed the likes of Bernie Custis, Chuck Ealey, Condredge Holloway, Warren Moon, Roy DeWalt etc a chance to display their skills without prejudice is only one of many reasons the CFL is the best North American football league!

    And yet the CFL continues to still basically write-off or exclude Canadian QBs from real competition at the position. There were a few Black QBs who got a brief look in the NFL way back, but mostly it wasn't serious. Just like the CFL is STILL not really serious about giving Canadian Qbs "a chance to display their skills without prejudice" - or else the very best would get drafted and /or CFL try-outs year in year out. Picton was not drafted this year and I suspect his try-out is more just a feel good PR stunt by Popp; Hugo Richard from Laval (better pro QB prospect than Picton IMO) was not drafted either and got ZERO CFL consideration. And meanwhile that stiff Shitz is a leading contender to start for the Als and CFL teams have - again - signed a whole pile of young American QBs for TC try-outs ?

    The Canadian QB situation with the CFL has been compared by some to the old NFL situation/attitude towards African American QBs; the comparison is still very valid IMO, and I'm not sure how this can be denied or avoided.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jerrym View Post
    When it comes to what is allowed in terms of protests, American Constitutional law, labor and civil rights legislation, as well the NFL player's union Collective Bargaining Agreement all provide significant protection to a player.



    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/o...-protests.html


    In the case of the NFL, the Collective Bargaining Agreement offers further protection to players. Although Kaepernick, because he is the plaintiff in the collusion case must provide the burden of proof to show that collusion occurred, has the right to depose the NFL owners, which has already begun, to look at team emails and other club information to support his case.



    https://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery...006024&EXT=pdf
    Just read through all of this.
    I didn't realize that all of this stuff existed, and certainly the bit about the CBA players' rights is damning against the owners.

    I still disagree strongly with the form of these protests (I strongly support the cause though), but this doesn't look good for the owners.

    @AngeloV - yah, I probably am underestimating the GOB (OV!) nature of the owners.


    BTW, do these laws and CBA items potentially threaten the tradition of requiring players to have to be on field at all for the playing of the national anthem?
    Since it is a workplace for the players, why should they be forced to attend the playing of the national anthem at all?
    Kind of like prayer in schools - should it be forced on everyone?
    Just a thought.

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