Former 49er Kaepernick takes NFL to court

SAN FRANCISCO: Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, an NFL free agent who last year began the kneeling protest during US anthems that became a major controversy, has filed a collusion grievance against the NFL.

Six weeks into the NFL season the 29-year-old Kaepernick is still without a job despite a number of job openings created by injuries to other quarterbacks.

Kaepernick and his lawyer, Mark Geragos, are claiming the owners violated terms of the collective bargaining agreement, specifically a clause that prohibits teams from acting together in regards to a player’s employment status.

He has filed his grievance just days before the owners are scheduled to meet in New York. “We can confirm that this morning we filed a grievance under the CBA on behalf of Colin Kaepernick,” Geragos said in a statement.

“This was done only after pursuing every possible avenue with all NFL teams and their executives. “If the NFL is to remain a meritocracy, then principled and peaceful political protests — 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.”

Tensions were raised about the kneeling when US President Donald Trump last month said any NFL player kneeling during the anthem should be fired.

That has prompted a rise in the number of players who kneel or link arms in a sign of unity over the past four weeks and set the stage for league executives and owners to talk about the matter in depth next week at regularly scheduled club owners meetings.