After President Trump ruffled feathers by disinviting the Eagles from the White House, some theorized that his decision could actually aid Colin Kaepernick’s collusion case against the NFL.
It appears Kaepernick lawyers may feel the same way, as they are reportedly expected to try to subpoena Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and “other officials familiar with the president’s agenda on protesting NFL players,” sources told Yahoo Sports.
If Kaepernick’s lawyers can show NFL owners have discussed Kaepernick, the national anthem protests and the fears they have of the president continuing to criticize their handling of the situation, they may be able to prove collusion has taken place.
“Athletes should not be denied employment based on partisan political provocation by the executive branch of our government,” reads the grievance. “Such a precedent threatens all patriotic Americans and harkens back to our darkest days as a nation.”
To get the subpoena—which Trump likely would fight as he has signaled he would with the Mueller probe—Kaepernick’s team will need to show there is a connection between Trump bashing the NFL over its handling of the national anthem (or revoking the Super Bowl champs’ White House invite) and the ex-49er’s ongoing unemployment.
“It remains to be seen whether the totality of those incidents will be enough to convince the system arbitrator in Kaepernick’s case or a federal judge to conclude that forcing depositions of Trump, Pence or others is necessary,” according to Yahoo Sports. “But that appears to be the next avenue of pursuit for Kaepernick’s legal team, in a case that has only seemed to gain more traction with each passing month.”
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