Kaepernick’s Case Against the NFL to Focus on Trump’s Influence Over Owners

Former 49ers quarterback filed a grievance against the NFL, alleging owner collusion.

President Trump’s Twitter-finger and vitriolic soundbites-manship may prove damaging for the National Football League in a way even he didn’t expect.

The key aspect of that grievance Colin Kaepernick filed, claiming that NFL team owners colluded to keep him unemployed, will be Trump’s influence over the owners, according to CBS Sports, who cited just a single source.

Under normal circumstances, Kaepernick would need to prove that teams conspired with the league to keep him off of a team, but there is a wealth of evidence—tweets and remarks during speeches—”where Trump expressed his influence over owners in this manner.” That is, the president specifically said that he’d been in contact with owners and league representatives, working “to restrict decision-making regarding signing Kaepernick.” So in a sense, Trump caused an environment where collusion could take place.

There’s also evidence that Trump has spoken with at least two team owners directly, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones.

 

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