Colin Kaepernick’s grievance against the NFL is set to go to trial after an arbitrator turned down what was effectively a request by the league for the case to be dismissed.
Kaepernick filed the grievance in October last year, claiming owners have colluded to keep him out of the league after he knelt during the national anthem to highlight racial injustice in the United States. Under the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement teams and the NFL are forbidden from coming together to deprive a player of employment.
Mark Geragos (@markgeragos)
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Kaepernick, who led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2013, left San Francisco at the end of the 2016 season and has not been picked up by a team since. The fact that teams with a need for a quarterback have passed up the chance to sign Kaepernick left many to believe owners are either punishing him for his stance or believe his presence would alienate fans. Eric Reid, who knelt besides Kaepernick, has also filed a grievance. He too has been out of a job since leaving the 49ers, despite being in his prime and a solid player.
In March, Reid said he had no doubt his protest had prevented him from finding a job. “The notion that I can be a great signing for your team for cheap, not because of my skill set but because I’ve protested systemic oppression, is ludicrous. If you think [it] is, then your mindset is part of the problem too,” Reid wrote on Twitter.
The new NFL season starts next Thursday when the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, play the Atlanta Falcons.