By Perry Green, AFRO Sports Editor
The NFL is trying to shut down Colin Kaepernick’s collusion case against the league, according to reports.
Per Yahoo Sports, the league officially requested for an arbitrator to review the case to provide a summary judgment in hopes of a dismissal. The NFL has the right to call on an arbitrator to review any collusion allegations, based on a subsection of Article 17 of the collective bargaining agreement, according to Yahoo Sports.
Colin Kapernick’s collusion case is currently in arbitration to see if there is enough evidence to prove the NFL did work to blacklist the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback. (Courtesy Photo)
The case will now be in the hands of arbitrator Stephen Burbank, Yahoo Sports reported, who will have to determine if Kaepernick’s legal team has collected evidence “sufficient to raise a genuine issue of material fact capable of satisfying.” If so, Burbank would allow Kaepernick to continue the case against the league. However, if Burbank decides Kaepernick doesn’t have enough sufficient evidence to prove the league colluded against him, he can dismiss the case.
The arbitration request ultimately forces Kaepernick’s lawyers to file their official argument for collusion against the league, and to reveal their discovery after nine months of collection evidence; the legal team has deposed several owners and league executives during the process, including commissioner Roger Goodell, as well as owners Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys) and Robert Kraft (New England Patriots).
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback first filed his complaint for alleged collusion last October, claiming the league colluded to keep him from being signed because he took a knee during the National Anthem in protest of police brutality and racism in the U.S.
Kaepernick’s former teammate, Eric Reid, also filed a collusion grievance against the league this year after claiming he too has been unsigned by a team because of kneeling in protest.
