Kaepernick Sues NFL Over Collusion To Deny Him Employment

[macspectrum]

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.



https://thinkprogress.org/colin-kaep...-6fe635e3caf2/

i wish him nothing but success
the owners have shown themselves to be cowards re social justice and 1st ammendmant

[AngeloV]

i wish him nothing but success
the owners have shown themselves to be cowards re social justice and 1st ammendmant

On this point, I 100% agree with you.

Jerry Jones threatens to fire any player that kneels over racial inequalities, but has no problem retaining players suspended for violent crimes, sexual misconduct allegations and drug violations.

[jerrym]

On this point, I 100% agree with you.

Jerry Jones threatens to fire any player that kneels over racial inequalities, but has no problem retaining players suspended for violent crimes, sexual misconduct allegations and drug violations.

I also agree.
While Jones comments has raised passions on both sides of the issue, talks are continuing to resolve it.

“The owner of the Dallas Cowboys, with the old plantation mentality,” [SF 49er cornerback Richard] Sherman said of Jones. “What did you expect?” ...

Sherman, a member of the NFL Players Association’s executive committee, would not be a fit with the Cowboys.
Yet he’s still encouraged by discussions between the league and players' union while the policy that team owners adopted in May has been put on puase.


“They’re having the conversations; that’s awesome,” Sherman said. “But there are unintended consequences. If they did this (original policy) to appease people, they didn’t appease anyone. It’s like putting a Band-Aid over a broken leg.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ery/867926002/

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made headlines about his controversial mandate that players stand “toe on the line” for the playing of the national anthem. The NFL, apparently, told him to stop making them. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Jones was prepared to do a number of interviews with local media members Sunday evening in Oxnard, Calif., where the team holds its training camp, when he and a member of the Cowboys public relations staff told media that questions about the national anthem issue were off limits. ...

On Wednesday, Jones spoke at the team’s first press conference of training camp and indicated that the team would not support players who protest social injustice by choosing not to stand on the field during the national anthem. Then one day later, Jones’ son, Cowboys executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones, doubled down and hinted that players who don’t follow the team’s mandate would be cut. ...

The stance was a departure from a recent pact between the NFL and the NFL Players Association agreeing that “no new rules relating to the anthem will be issued or enforced” until a firm policy had been agreed to. ....

“I don’t think so,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Sunday in an interview with NFL Network when asked if Jerry Jones’ comments impede the progress to forge a national anthem policy compromise. “Jerry is just one owner and I have a lot of respect for Jerry in many ways. He’s entitled to his feelings. I don’t have to agree with them, but it is what it is. We don’t agree on everything. But I do feel strongly that talking together around the shared concerns and keeping our minds and hearts and spirits on the issues because the issues are really what’s at risk here.”

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...est/863544002/

[jerrym]

Several NFL players engaged in protests in preseason games on Thursday by taking a knee, raising a fist or staying off the field during the national anthem on the anniversary of the Charlottesville Neo-Nazi riot.

One of those players was Philadelphia Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, who raised a fist during the anthem before the team’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, NBC Sports reported. ...

"Before we enjoy this game lets take some time to ponder that more than 60% of the prison population are people of color," Jenkins said in a tweet before Thursday's game, in which the Eagles lost 14-31. "The NFL is made up of 70% African Americans. What you witness on the field does not represent the reality of everyday America. We are the anomalies..." he said.
Miami Dolphins' wide receivers Kenny Stills and Albert Wilson kneeled during the anthem, and defensive end Robert Quinn stood and raised his right fist during the team’s exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to NBC Miami.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who began the protest of not standing during the anthem in 2016 in what he said was a gesture on behalf of people who were oppressed because of their race, in a tweet Thursday thanked Stills and Wilson for taking a knee. ...

In July, the NFL Players Association and the league said in a joint statement that they agreed to halt enforcement of rules regarding the new national anthem policy while the two sides work on a resolution. ...

Jacksonville Jaguars players Telvin Smith, Jalen Ramsey, Leonard Fournette and T.J. Yeldon remained in the tunnel when the national anthem played before the team's home game against the New Orleans Saints. ...

Smith, a linebacker, said after the game that "I've got beliefs and I did what I did. I don't know if it’s going to be every week. But as a man, I’ve got to stand for something," according to the newspaper.

Seattle Seahawks' left tackle Duane Brown and defensive linemen Quinton Jefferson and Branden Jackson stayed in the locker room and were not on the field during the anthem before the Seahawks’ game against the Indianapolis Colts, according to the Seattle Times. All three knelt during the anthem last season, the newspaper reported.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...season-n899481

[jerrym]

Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones, who has been the most vocal critic of players taking a knee and whose son has said players could be released for sitting during the national anthem, is receiving criticism for wearing his hat during the national anthem even when his son was seeming to take his hat off, even though the U.S. code on the national anthem says one should take off your hat during the national anthem.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/j...tional-anthem/

[jerrym]

Nike has signed a advertising contract worth millions with Kaepernick, putting the NFL in an awkward position as it also has a contract with Nike in which the Nike swoosh is the only trademark on NFL uniforms.
An online but unscientific poll with 35,000 responses said that the Nike-Kaepernick deal would make no difference in what Nike products a person would buy, while 29% said they would buy more Nike products and 21% said they would buy less Nike products.

The NFL would prefer to say nothing at all about Colin Kaepernick. But with the NFL’s official and exclusive apparel provider embracing the quarterback the NFL has shunned, the NFL can’t keep silent.

NBC News senior editor Claire Atkinson tweeted earlier this afternoon that the NFL is preparing a statement regarding the man who has taken on the NFL in court, and who so far is winning. Or perhaps more accurately not yet losing. Which is still a win when it comes to any showdown with Big Shield.

With a commitment to Nike through 2028, it would be awkward and expensive for the NFL to attempt to disengage, from a financial and P.R. standpoint. So look for the NFL to come up with some sort of comment that expresses respect for the ability of Nike to do business with Kaepernick or anyone else it chooses while also reiterating the NFL’s belief that Kaepernick isn’t unemployed due to collusive action but due to the fact that he doesn’t merit jobs that a wide variety of inferior quarterbacks currently hold.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...in-kaepernick/

[jerrym]

Colin Kaepernick is doing alright without the NFL.

Colin Kaepernick's company Inked Flash has filed for the trademark to a black and white image of his face and hair.
The filing, which showed up on the website for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Wednesday but was filed last Friday, says the intent is to use the image on everything from shampoo and hairspray to jewelry and lampshades. ...

Kaepernick, who hasn't played in the NFL since the 2016 season, re-emerged as a marketing icon last month when Nike started using him in the company's "Just Do It" campaign. Using him caused polarizing reactions, with some saying they were more encouraged to buy Nike items, and others saying they would now stay away.
"I think it's very smart," trademark attorney Josh Gerben of Washington-based Gerben Law said of Kaepernick's filing. "Nike made him relevant. Now he can monetize that and promote his movement more."

Kaepernick had been with Nike since 2011, but the company recently re-signed him to a new deal that sources say includes a small apparel collection.
Kaepernick began selling #ImwithKap items on his website last month, including jerseys, which the site says are currently out of stock. All profits are said to go to Know Your Rights Camp, Kaepernick's self-empowerment youth charity.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...rademark-image

[jerrym]

When Redskins QB Colt McCoy went down early in December and reporters asked HC Jay Gruden if he would sign Colin Kaepernick now that the team had only one healthy QB, Gruden said they had considered that but went in a different direction because Kaepernick didn't know the offensive system (https://www.nbcsports.com/washington...and-washington).
It sounds like another excuse to try in order to give some cover against Kaepernick's lawsuit.

On the other hand, Kaepernick says he would be willing to play for the Redskins if they asked. However, that isn't going to happen.

If there's still any question about whether or not Colin Kaepernick wants to play football anymore, it looks like we can put a end to that debate, because he reportedly wants to play.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Kaepernick would absolutely be willing to play for the Redskins if they were to offer him a job. Although the Redskins could be seen as an odd fit for Kaepernick, two sources told Yahoo! Sports that the quarterback would be willing to play for "any NFL team" in order to get back in the league.

Kaepernick in Washington would have been an interesting sight to see, and that's mostly because he would be in the same town as Trump, who has repeatedly called Kaepernick out and publicly criticized him over the past two years.
Of course, the odds of Kaepernick landing in Washington are roughly zero percent at this point, and that's because the Redskins don't want him. According to ESPN.com, the team didn't even bother reaching out to Kaepernick even though he's likely the best quarterback available on the free agent market.

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/c...t-reached-out/

[jerrym]

The following video title makes the Kaepernick picture clear: "NFL Owners Would Rather Sign Wife Beaters Than Kaepernick".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJJB1vWyWP0

[AngeloV]

The following video title makes the Kaepernick picture clear: "NFL Owners Would Rather Sign Wife Beaters Than Kaepernick".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJJB1vWyWP0

it is disgusting what they are doing to a man that made a non violent protest over something he and many others believe in.

[jerrym]

Colin Kaepernick, who reached an out-of-court settlement with the NFL in February over his lawsuit calling that NFL teams colluded to keep him out of the league after he initiated taking a knee during the US national anthem to protest racial injustice, has released some information to counter false stories. The settlement is believed to be for $60 to $80 million and includes a confidentiality agreement. Finally, he gets some justice.

The 31-year-old Kaepernick was the first player in NFL history to take a knee during the United States national anthem in the San Francisco 49ers final pre-season game on Sep. 1, 2016, protesting racial injustice. Kaepernick has been a free agent since opting out of his contract with the 49ers in March 2017. That led to speculation that Kaepernick had been blackballed by the league. Kaepernick has thrown for 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns versus 30 interceptions while rushing for 2,300 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns since San Francisco selected him in the 2011 NFL draft.

The NFL and Kaepernick came to a resolution over his allegation of collusion to keep him out of the league. Mark Geragos, the lawyer representing Kaepernick, released a joint statement about the two sides resolving pending grievances subject to a confidentiality agreement.





Number NFL team officials are speculating to me is the NFL paid Kaepernick in the $60 to $80 million range.

According to Kaepernick’s representatives, not a single NFL team has offered him a job since he’s been a free agent and began his peaceful protest. There hasn’t even been a team bring Kaepernick in for a workout. His agent have never seen anything like the current situation in 25 years.

https://3downnation.com/2019/10/10/a...se-narratives/

[jerrym]

In a stunning turnaround by the NFL at least 24 of its teams (according to CBC) will attend a Colin Kaepernick pro day workout. Many teams were caught off-guard by the announcement, indicating the process was ad-hoc in nature.

The spectacle began with a phone call that shocked Colin Kaepernick and almost every team in the NFL—an offer from the league for the long-deposed quarterback to work out at a makeshift pro day Saturday. With the call, the awkward dance between the NFL and a player many view as a heroic figure resumed over whether his exile from the league will end. ...

While the seemingly haphazard manner in which NFL has planned this gives rise to questions about the league's intentions, two team executives told B/R they believe the interest in Kaepernick is real, and if he throws well, he'll be on a team by the end of the month. These executives believe the underlying purpose of the pro day is to signal to teams that they are clear to sign Kaepernick.

Despite the awkwardness of how the plan was rolled out with no warning, the execs think the NFL is sincere in what it's doing and attribute the timing as a product of a bumbling league rather than an attempt to trick Kaepernick. But the details surrounding the plan and its out-of-nowhere announcement have some around the NFL questioning the league's motives.

According to people close to Kaepernick, the offer left them wondering what the hell had happened. It was the first time the NFL had spoken with Kaepernick's representatives in more than a year. They were given a two-hour window to accept the offer, and the workout was scheduled for Saturday. The plan was somewhat curious and frantic. A private pro day seemed unprecedented in recent NFL history. These types of workouts are usually only reserved for college prospects. The date was also unusual. Most free agents work out on Tuesdays since few scouts and team executive are traveling that day. On Saturdays, most teams are prepping for Sunday's games.

To Kaepernick, the entire situation seemed more like a public relations stunt than a sincere opportunity. And he wasn't alone in feeling blindsided. One NFC West front-office executive said he initially thought it was a prank when his team heard about what the league was doing. Other teams were shocked as well. Three team executives reached by B/R all said they had never heard of anything like this in their professional careers. Two of them said they were uncertain if they could attend because of their Saturday travel schedule.

The situation took another bizarre turn Wednesday night. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that after initially agreeing to provide a list of executives who were attending the workout, the NFL said it wouldn't. A league source denied to Schefter that it ever promised such a list. Schefter also reported that some team executives called Kaepernick to apologize that they wouldn't be able to attend and told him they were unclear about why the league was even having the workout.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...n-pro-day-plan

[jerrym]

Here is more information on how Kaepernick's workout came about. Kaepernick was given only two hours to accept or reject the offer of a workout, suggesting that it is a NFL PR stunt.

USA TODAY Sports' Mike Jones uncovered many of the details earlier this week, reporting that the workout caught many within the league office and the NFL Players Association by surprise. It appeared to be rushed, he added, even though commissioner Roger Goodell had kicked around the idea for some time. ...

Jones also reported that Jay-Z, the rapper who partnered with the NFL earlier this year to work on its social justice initiative, had some influence on the matter and had spoken with Goodell multiple times about helping Kaepernick get back in the NFL. ...

Ultimately, it all came together relatively quickly on Tuesday. Multiple outlets, including The New York Times, reported that Kaepernick's camp was told of the workout plan and given two hours to confirm whether the quarterback would attend.

It will basically be similar to a pro day, with drills, measurements and an interview — all filmed and made available afterward to every team in the league. According to NFL Network, the exact schedule will be as follows: An interview at 3:15 p.m., followed by measurements and warm-ups, followed by timing and testing at 3:50 and, finally, quarterback drills at 4:15.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...ls/4205957002/

[jerrym]

Kaepernick moved the scheduled workout with NFL scouts, claiming he wanted a transparent process with media present and the league had demanded an unusual liability waiver.

Upset at what he called preconditions imposed by the National Football League, quarterback Colin Kaepernick at the last minute moved his scheduled tryout on Saturday away from the Atlanta Falcons training facility to a local high school where media could attend. ...

The NFL said it had arranged the tryout so clubs could evaluate the 32-year-old’s talent, but Kaepernick’s representatives accused the league of not acting in a forthright manner in organizing the workout. “From the outset, Mr. Kaepernick requested a legitimate process and from the outset the NFL league office has not provided one,” they said in a statement.

“Most recently, the NFL has demanded that as a precondition to the workout, Mr. Kaepernick sign an unusual liability waiver that addresses employment-related issues and rejected the standard liability waiver from physical injury proposed by Mr. Kaepernick’s representatives.”

The NFL said it had arranged the tryout so clubs could evaluate the 32-year-old’s talent, but Kaepernick’s representatives accused the league of not acting in a forthright manner in organizing the workout. “From the outset, Mr. Kaepernick requested a legitimate process and from the outset the NFL league office has not provided one,” they said in a statement. “Most recently, the NFL has demanded that as a precondition to the workout, Mr. Kaepernick sign an unusual liability waiver that addresses employment-related issues and rejected the standard liability waiver from physical injury proposed by Mr. Kaepernick’s representatives.”

The statement said Kaepernick had requested all media be allowed into the workout to observe and film it but the NFL had denied the request.The statement said Kaepernick had requested all media be allowed into the workout to observe and film it but the NFL had denied the request. ...

Protesters and supporters had waited for Kaepernick outside the facility. One protester, waving a U.S. flag, held a sign that said “Colin Kaepernick un-American Loser. Get out of my town”. Supporters included one follower wearing a Kaepernick jersey and displaying a sign that read “I’m with Kap”.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...eduled-tryout/

[jerrym]

Here is more on the unusual liability waiver Kaepernick was ask to sign.

The issue that led to the impasse was the NFL’s insistence that Kaepernick sign an “unusual” waiver. Kaepernick has reportedly been mulling a collusion lawsuit against the NFL. Contrary to popular belief, Kaepernick has never challenged the NFL in a court of law. While news outlets have called Kaepernick’s previous settlement a “lawsuit,” it was technically an NFL Players Association grievance that was settled through arbitration, as required by the NFLPA union contract.

ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio, who is also a lawyer, reports:

The three-page, 13-paragraph documents contains several specific provisions that could be relevant to the question of whether the NFL was trying to parlay the waiver into a release of any claims for collusion/retaliation that Kaepernick could make as a result of his ongoing unemployment by the league since settling his first collusion case in February…

If I were representing Kaepernick, and if the goal were to have a genuine workout aimed at enhancing his chances of being signed by an NFL team, I would have asked immediately for the document to be revised to specifically clarify that any and all potential employment rights would be preserved. If the league had refused, I wouldn’t have signed it, because the language leaves the door sufficiently ajar for a subsequent defense to a collusion/retaliation case that signing the waiver extinguished the claims.

https://www.theroot.com/here-s-the-w...-to-1839922238

[Ron]

well put

[jerrym]

The reaction to the killing of George Floyd and the widespread kneeling to acknowledge the racism problem globally has now given new perspective on Kaepernick's taking a knee during NFL games and the reaction that engendered among players, owners, fans and others.

The killing of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers has created a surprising flashpoint, an acknowledgement by previously disbelieving white people of the violence historically inflicted upon African Americans and a sudden, jarring suggestion that America is ready to deal directly with the terrible truths that violence has entailed: Police treat black citizens harshly with devastating consequences. Prosecutors are reluctant to charge police. Juries are even more reluctant to convict them. In the rare case of a conviction, judges are unwilling to punish them with firm prison sentences -- if any jail time at all. Corporations across the country, including now the NFL, have pledged solidarity with their black citizens, seeking to reflect harmony by using the term "Black Lives Matter." ...

Included prominently in the nationwide protests is the gesture of taking a knee toward the American flag. It's a distress signal indicating that the country has not lived up to the democratic ideals it spreads across the globe -- ideals it tells soldiers that their uniforms and flag represent, ideals Americans believe separate them from countries that jail, kill and otherwise silence their citizens. It is Colin Kaepernick's symbol, and it is used everywhere -- by children and high school students who reference him as their inspiration, and now by police and politicians to quell public anger directed at them to suggest finally, after so much time, a willingness to listen.

It is also the symbol NFL owners used as justification to destroy Kaepernick's NFL career. ...


After the sloganeering and statements, the NFL serves as a microcosm of the corrections Americans are now expecting. Kaepernick is not vindicated because he is still being punished. Nor did he reveal something black people did not know. He was punished for supporting them.
The league must answer the question of today's moment: Is this a reckoning, or is it a dance? NFL commissioner Roger Goodell released a recorded statement Friday night attempting to reconcile with players in response to a video players released Thursday night featuring Deshaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes and several others demanding acknowledgement on the part of the NFL that their protests be taken seriously. ...

Goodell's statement also did not mention the name "Kaepernick," the surest sign yet that the NFL is unserious about the actual work that needs to be done to make this right. Goodell apologized for the NFL not listening to players, and even this basic, ostensibly conciliatory statement is false. The NFL did listen to players. It listened to Malcolm Jenkins. It listened to Anquan Boldin. It listened to white players, such as Drew Brees and its white ex-players-turned-broadcasters, such as Boomer Esiason, who were offended by Kaepernick's position. ...

The NFL heard a warning that America was fraying, and in response constructed an entire machine to undermine Kaepernick -- and became an active partner in dividing the nation. Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula conceived of the organization that would become the Players Coalition, led by Jenkins and Boldin, when he felt the league needed a player-run, black-player-headed organization to address injustice issues to neutralize Kaepernick's influence. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross amplified it. Goodell and the NFL increased restrictions and penalties on kneeling demonstrations. Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones threatened the employment of any player who knelt. And, of course, all 32 teams followed suit. ...

It is the NFL's black fans who also require an apology from Goodell, because in punishing Kaepernick for drawing attention to the senseless killing of black citizens, the NFL chose killer cops over loyal fans, sending the message to them, as well as the players, that their concerns were unimportant compared to white fans who objected to kneeling. Black fans did not matter to the NFL. Now, Goodell could not mention Kaepernick by name but expects the public to believe that the NFL does. ...

The NFL today is in real time America of the 1970s, when the country had to admit that it was wrong in its attempt to destroy Muhammad Ali. Finally, it did, and the world did not collapse, but it healed, as most wounds do with the proper treatment.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...aepernick-name

[jerrym]

During the funeral service for George Floyd, Reverend Al Sharpton noted that NFL Commissioner Goodell's acknowledgement that his statement that the league was wrong on the kneeling during the anthem issue was meaningless unless the league was going to give Kaepernick a real shot at playing in the NFL without having to sign an agreement to not sue the league. The entire audience stood and cheered the comment.

[jerrym]

It is ironic that Nascar, the so-called sport of white southern rednecks, has banned the Confederate flag and strongly supported its only Black racer, Bubba Watson, after a noose was found in his racing garage stall, while the NFL still pushes Kaepernick away. The NFL has alienated some Black fans as a result while Nascar's approach has spurred some Blacks to take a look at the sport.

[AngeloV]

It is ironic that Nascar, the so-called sport of white southern rednecks, has banned the Confederate flag and strongly supported its only Black racer, Bubba Watson, after a noose was found in his racing garage stall, while the NFL still pushes Kaepernick away. The NFL has alienated some Black fans as a result while Nascar's approach has spurred some Blacks to take a look at the sport.

Question is, would Nascar have banned that flag if it wasn't for the (IMO justified rioting) after the murder of Geroge Floyd? Just like the cop that killed him likely would never have been charged without the rioting.

Call me a pessimist, but I think Nascar is doing this strictly for good PR. Their fan base has been going down for years because of the redneck factor, and they are just looking to change their image. All business.

Now, I am glad for any culture change in this regard, but I have a hard time believing that they have had such an about face in dealing with these Confederate flag waving goofballs. To me, it's no different than the Goodell apology. Although I personally feel Goodell really meant it, his bosses who he speaks on behalf of (the majority of the owners) don't feel that way.