Colin Kaepernick has not taken a snap in the NFL in two seasons, as the former 49ers quarterback has found himself unable to get a job despite an obvious skill set (that seems to only fit better as the NFL continues to adapt to mobile, strong-armed quarterbacks).
While the league insists Kaepernick has been jobless for two seasons because he’s just not good enough, most believe he’s been effectively blackballed from the NFL for leading the protests against police brutality and racial inequality by kneeling during the national anthem. During his pre-Super Bowl press conference, commissioner Roger Goodell doubled down (quintupled down?) on the league’s stance that he’s not playing for football reasons.
On Thursday, Kaepernick’s lawyer Mark Geragos went on Today and explained why he believes the collusion case Kaepernick has brought against the league will be proven, thanks to signings like Mark Sanchez, and how the issue isn’t just the league but that the NFL is “kowtowing” to Donald Trump.
“I think the commissioner was roasted appropriately on social media… The whole thing is basically a ruse. The collusion actually was the NFL kowtowing to the President.” Mark Geragos, Colin Kaepernick’s attorney, on Roger Goodell’s recent comments about Kaepernick pic.twitter.com/91zD2KNM5z
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 31, 2019
The assertion from Geragos is that owners have been so afraid of the backlash that inevitably comes in the form of a Trump tweet when he disapproves of something going on in the NFL that they have all decided together to keep Kaepernick out of the league. Given the controversy the protests during the anthem have sparked over the past two years in terms of becoming a national talking point well outside sports circles, he may very well be right.
As Kaepernick’s collusion case moves into a future hearing, Geragos hopes a judge will see it that way as well and the ramifications for the NFL if found guilty would be fascinating to see.
