NFL Owners Admit They Changed Their Minds About Hiring Kaepernick 'Because of Trump': Lawyer

Cody Fenwick
and
AlterNet
May 30, 2018The Right Wing

Colin Kaepernick's lawyer said on the "Straight Aim" podcast this week that President Donald Trump's opposition to the player's national anthem protests is the reason he was not hired by any NFL team, citing the sworn testimony of several coaches.

Kaepernick's lawyer, Mark Geragos, told the podcast host Amy Dash that the revelations emerged during depositions for Kaepernick's lawsuit against the league owners. The player says that the owners illegally colluded to keep him off their teams despite his talent. The lawsuit says they have "have colluded to deprive Mr. Kaepernick of employment rights in retaliation for Mr. Kaepernick's leadership and advocacy for equality and social justice and his bringing awareness to peculiar institutions still undermining racial equality in the United States."

Kaepernick's protest, which consists solely of kneeling while the national anthem is played at games to draw attention to racism and discrimination in law enforcement, drew Trump's ire. Just last week, the league announced it was changing its policy to bar players from kneeling during the anthem.

"The only reason — and the owners will admit that — they haven’t signed him is they’re afraid of Trump, and they’ve colluded because of Trump,” Geragos said on the podcast. He also said that the owners agree Kaepernick could otherwise be a starting quarterback, were it not for the political controversy.

He added that the league "made the choice they are gonna opt on the white nationalistic side as opposed to any other demographic."

Report typos and corrections to: feedback@alternet.org.

Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

Understand the importance of honest news ?

So do we.

The past year has been the most arduous of our lives. The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be catastrophic not only to our health - mental and physical - but also to the stability of millions of people. For all of us independent news organizations, it’s no exception.

We’ve covered everything thrown at us this past year and will continue to do so with your support. We’ve always understood the importance of calling out corruption, regardless of political affiliation.

We need your support in this difficult time. Every reader contribution, no matter the amount, makes a difference in allowing our newsroom to bring you the stories that matter, at a time when being informed is more important than ever. Invest with us.

Make a one-time contribution to Alternet All Access, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.

Click to donate by check.

DonateDonate by credit card
Donate by Paypal
{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}
@2022 - AlterNet Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. - "Poynter" fonts provided by fontsempire.com.