Kaepernick levels huge accusation at NFL and Trump

Colin Kaepernick, who has not been able to find another job in the NFL since opting out of his 49ers contract earlier this year, has reportedly filed a collusion grievance against NFL owners.

The 29-year-old quarterback has hired attorney Mark Geragos to assist him. Geragos released the following statement Sunday night.

"We can confirm that this morning we filed a grievance under the CBA on behalf of Colin Kaepernick. This was done only after pursuing every possible avenue with all the NFL teams and their executives.

"If the NFL (as well as all professional sports leagues) is to remain a meritocracy, then principled and peaceful political protest -- 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.

"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 return to the football playing field.

According to ProFootballTalk, citing "source with knowledge of the situation," Kaepernick wants to blow up the league's collective bargaining agreement (CBA). If Kaepernick can prove collusion through the grievance, the CBA will be terminated.

Kaepernick's collusion grievance in part, alleges league owners blackballed him and were further coerced by President Donald Trump.

The NFL players’ union said Sunday it will support Kaepernick but will have no role in the grievance. The union didn’t learn of it until it was reported in the media Sunday.

“Our union has a duty to assist Mr. Kaepernick as we do all players and we will support him,” the statement said. “The NFLPA has been in regular contact with Mr. Kaepernick’s representatives for the past year about his options and our union agreed to follow the direction of his advisors throughout that time.

"We first learned through media reports today that Mr. Kaepernick filed a grievance claiming collusion through our arbitration system and is represented by his own counsel. We learned that the NFL was informed of his intention to file this grievance before today. We are scheduling a call with his advisors for early this week.”

Kaepernick became a controversial figure last year when he became the first player to refuse to stand for the national anthem as a sign of protest against what he called racial injustice in the U.S. Many other players have since followed his lead, leading to fan protests and concern among owners and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell that the players' actions are hurting TV ratings and attendance.

Several team owners have expressed concerns that signing Kaepernick would create distractions and upset fans. Earlier this year, Giants owner John Mara told TheMMQB that he'd received letters from fans saying they'd never attend another game if the team signed Kaepernick, or if other players refused to stand for the anthem.

But ESPN's Adam Schefter reported in late July that some owners had taken an active role in preventing their team from even considering the controversial quarterback.

“Do I think that certain owners have blocked teams from visits or interest? I do, I do believe that,” Schefter said on ESPN Radio's "Mike and Mike" show. “And I think that there has been more interest in him from the coaching and front office level than there has been at the ownership level. So it was always going to take a unique opportunity for him to be brought in, in the right place, at the right spot, at the right time.”

But allegations and suspicions are one thing, and actually proving that owners and/or the NFL are actively colluding to block Kaepernick from finding employment is a different matter.

Goodell told ESPN in June that he did not believe Kaepernick had been unfairly denied a shot at a job.

"I believe that if a football team feels that Colin Kaepernick, or any other player, is going to improve that team, they're going to do it," he said.