A lawyer for former NFL player Colin Kaepernick says that at least one NFL owner changed his mind about signing the player after President Trump blasted the anthem protests.
Kaepernick attorney Mark Geragos said that one NFL owner has admitted under oath to the about-face decision, because Trump began attacking the players who took a knee during the playing of the national anthem, Sports Illustrated reported.
“[We] got an owner under penalty of perjury testifying that he changed his mind after he was told what Trump said,” Geragos said during an episode of Amy Dash’s podcast.
Geragos insisted that this admission from an owner — whom he did not identify on the podcast — was proof that the league colluded and blackballed Kaepernick from being able to pursue his pro football career.
“The only reason — and the owners will admit that — they haven’t signed [Kaepernick] is they’re afraid of Trump, and they’ve colluded because of Trump,” Geragos continued.
“Basically, at this point, they’ve made the choice that they’re going to opt on the side of the white, nationalistic side, as opposed to any other demographic,” the attorney concluded.
Kaepernick invented the anti-American protest during the playing of the national anthem in 2016. But after that year, Kaepernick turned free agent and subsequently found that no team was interested in signing him.
He then filed a grievance case with the National Football League Players Association alleging that the league’s owners “colluded” to keep him from pursuing his football career.
A long list of NFL coaches, owners and officials have already testified under oath in the case, but what they have said has remained under wraps. This is the first hint of what has been said in the depositions so far.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.