Report: Kaepernick files grievance against NFL owners for collusion

[Betallsports]

<article class="ember-view article-content font-body copy-text" data-no-turbolink=""> Colin Kaepernick's grievance against the NFL - alleging collusion against him - could lead to a landmark decision for the league, and the world of sports at large.


A source told Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio that Kaepernick's grievance is aiming to invalidate and terminate the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).


Per Florio's report:

Article 69, Section 2 of the CBA allows for the agreement to be terminated prematurely in the event of proof of collusion. Under Article 17, Section 16(c) of the CBA, termination can arise from only one incident of collusion involving only one player if there is clear and convincing evidence of a violation.


​

Kaepernick hasn't been signed by an NFL team after opting out of his contract with the San Francisco 49ers on March 3, when it became evident the organization wouldn't retain him.


A host of free-agent quarterbacks - many of whom posted inferior statistics to Kaepernick in previous seasons - have been signed instead of him, which he alleges is due to his protests against racial inequality, police brutality, and systemic oppression.

https://www.thescore.com/nfl/news/1...ming-to-dissolve-cba-with-collusion-grievance

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[StevieRay]

This stupid ass need to go away.

 

[pathologist]

Such a pussy

 

[Betallsports]

He should STFU ...

and I hear McDonald's is Hiring

 

[Simmer]

Pussy? Maybe you work at some shitty company where they can try and prevent other companies from hiring your minimum wage working ass from hiring you after you quit because you believed you'd be more valued elsewhere ? Oh wait, that's against the law.
This is his livelihood. Fairly obvious he is being blackballed over his freedom of speech

 

[Seymour]

Pussy? Maybe you work at some shitty company where they can try and prevent other companies from hiring your minimum wage working ass from hiring you after you quit because you believed you'd be more valued elsewhere ? Oh wait, that's against the law.
This is his livelihood. Fairly obvious he is being blackballed over his freedom of speech[/QUOT

Maybe Ray Rice can join the grievance? I will wager anything this goes no where - dude is going under a bridge - Cali took all his money and now he's about 2 years from being homeless

 

[Simmer]

Pussy? Maybe you work at some shitty company where they can try and prevent other companies from hiring your minimum wage working ass from hiring you after you quit because you believed you'd be more valued elsewhere ? Oh wait, that's against the law.
This is his livelihood. Fairly obvious he is being blackballed over his freedom of speech[/QUOT

Maybe Ray Rice can join the grievance? I will wager anything this goes no where - dude is going under a bridge - Cali took all his money and now he's about 2 years from being homeless

Ray Rice beat the shit out of a female in an elevator. Kaep knelt and wore some socks with pigs on them. Great comparison by you

 

[Betallsports]

[h=1]Proving collusion by NFL owners will be tough for Colin Kaepernick[/h]
Colin Kaepernick and his representatives face a high bar to prove that NFL owners have colluded to keep him out of the league this season, as alleged in a grievance filed Sunday.


The NFL's collective bargaining agreement, which governs such disputes, makes clear that the failure to sign a player is not in itself enough to prove collusion. Instead, it must be combined with evidence that teams entered into an agreement, express or implied, to bar the player's employment.

Here's the relevant wording of the CBA's "burden of proof" for collusion:


"The failure by a club or clubs to negotiate, to submit offer sheets, or to sign contracts with restricted free agents or transition players, or to negotiate, make offers, or sign contracts for the playing services of such players or unrestricted free agents, shall not, by itself or in combination only with evidence about the playing skills of the player(s) not receiving any such offer or contract, satisfy the burden of proof set forth …"


Kaepernick began sitting or kneeling during the national anthem while with the San Francisco 49ers in August 2016, protesting what he said was police brutality and racism. He has remained unemployed since opting out of his contract in March. The Seattle Seahawks worked him out in May, and the Baltimore Ravens considered signing him this summer, but there have been no reported contract offers.


But his grievance, filed by attorney Mark Geragos, does not provide any specific evidence of an agreement to collude. It vaguely references NFL general managers who have cited "directives from NFL owners to not let Kaepernick so much as practice with an NFL team." It also accuses owners of submitting to the demands of President Donald Trump, whom it terms "an organizing force" in squashing what has become a weekly protest among at least some NFL players.


In the end, however, Geragos asserts that "the mere suspicion of collusion against Mr. Kaepernick has risen to the level of concrete and actual collusion. It is no longer a statistical anomaly but instead a statistical impossibility that Mr. Kaepernick has not been employed or permitted to try out for any NFL team since the initiation of his free agency period."

Reasonable people can debate Kaepernick's skill and ability level. But it would be impossible to rank him below the 89 quarterbacks on NFL rosters as of last Friday. There is no question that he is a better quarterback than some who have jobs, and perhaps some who have starting jobs as well.


But that fact -- and yes, I'm comfortable calling it a fact -- doesn't seem to satisfy the burden of proof required by the CBA. It seems clear that all 32 teams have reached the same conclusion on Kaepernick, if for different reasons. If that's the result of a coordinated league effort, however, we haven't seen the evidence required for an arbitrator to agree.


To be clear, none of this is going to accelerate Kaepernick's return to the NFL. Even if he wins this grievance, the CBA doesn't require a team to give him a job. Instead, it spells out a process for awarding compensatory damages, at a value to be determined by the arbitrator. The real damage to the NFL could be an exposure of its inner workings via public discovery.


There will be more to come from this story, for sure. NFL owners will gather this week, in fact, to discuss how to address the player protests in a way that alleviates public scrutiny while also providing players a fair working environment. Kaepernick's filing will add a new level of intensity to those proceedings, but its path to success is unclear at best.

 

[texansfan]

Pussy? Maybe you work at some shitty company where they can try and prevent other companies from hiring your minimum wage working ass from hiring you after you quit because you believed you'd be more valued elsewhere ? Oh wait, that's against the law.
This is his livelihood. Fairly obvious he is being blackballed over his freedom of speech

Another misinformed person. While in the work place, he has no freedom of speech, nor any 1st Amendment rights. He has no "right" to play in the NFL.

 

[Mr_Mark]

the entitled freedom of speech argument use to be kinda funny and I thought people were always joking. I quickly learned they were serious....I feel bad for them.

 

[StevieRay]

Pussy? Maybe you work at some shitty company where they can try and prevent other companies from hiring your minimum wage working ass from hiring you after you quit because you believed you'd be more valued elsewhere ? Oh wait, that's against the law.
This is his livelihood. Fairly obvious he is being blackballed over his freedom of speech

Naw, I do a good job at my work, Kap sucks at his. That's why he isn't playing. Worthless half white dude wanna be a brother

 

[KennyB]

He isn't good. If he was, he would be playing.

 

[Acebb]

Pussy? Maybe you work at some shitty company where they can try and prevent other companies from hiring your minimum wage working ass from hiring you after you quit because you believed you'd be more valued elsewhere ? Oh wait, that's against the law.
This is his livelihood. Fairly obvious he is being blackballed over his freedom of speech

Fairly obvious you don't know what "freedom of speech" means or what an analogy is.

 

[tatehill2000]

well 1 thing is for sure.. he can't say they won't hire him cause he's BLACK... HAHAHAHAHAHA...

 

[pathologist]

Pussy? Maybe you work at some shitty company where they can try and prevent other companies from hiring your minimum wage working ass from hiring you after you quit because you believed you'd be more valued elsewhere ? Oh wait, that's against the law.
This is his livelihood. Fairly obvious he is being blackballed over his freedom of speech

Is this Turd

 

[PoundFoolish]

Pussy? Maybe you work at some shitty company where they can try and prevent other companies from hiring your minimum wage working ass from hiring you after you quit because you believed you'd be more valued elsewhere ? Oh wait, that's against the law.
This is his livelihood. Fairly obvious he is being blackballed over his freedom of speech

incorrect. you do not have the right to do whatever yu want at work

 

[rolltide]

the entitled freedom of speech argument use to be kinda funny and I thought people were always joking. I quickly learned they were serious....I feel bad for them.

yeah, it's pretty scary ... thought it was just a fun little nice liberal narrative then i found out they believed it was true

 

[Redagger029]

A below average qb with limited skills decides to become a major distraction at the workplace. Then he opts out of his contract and his ego expects another company will jump at the chance to hire him. When this doesn't happen, he gets on the cross and lawyers up in court. News flash for ya Kap. The NFL is a business. It's not your personal sounding board. That's what your street clothes are for.

 

[Simmer]

incorrect. you do not have the right to do whatever yu want at work

Who said employees can do WHATEVER they want at work? Do you understand the basics of engaging in a discussion?

 

[PoundFoolish]

Who said employees can do WHATEVER they want at work? Do you understand the basics of engaging in a discussion?

maybe the fact you stated he was being blackballed over his freedom of speech which he does not have at work, hence he cannot do whatever he wants at work....any other arguments you want to lose?