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In today's news......
The first snippets of testimony have emerged from the depositions taken in the Colin Kaepernick collusion grievance.
Kaepernick's legal team has deposed more than a dozen people, including owners of the Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos general manager John Elway gave depositions in the case.
One of those coaches reportedly admitted under oath that he changed his mind about signing the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback after President Donald Trump comments about firing players that disrespect the flag.
Attorney Mark Geragos told the “Straight Aim” podcast Tuesday that the unidentified owner's testimony proves collusion. "In this civil case, there’s no doubt that the existing coaches — and I’m talking about Super Bowl-winning coaches — have testified under oath that he’s a starting quarterback in this league, and so that’s mind boggling,” Geragos said.
“When you ask them … specifically why he isn’t he being hired … they say because of the national anthem policy.
Also in deposition, Jerry Jones admitted that Trump pressured him to pressure the NFL to change the national anthem policy. Trump told him to tell the league that "you can't win this one" because "it lifts me (Trump)", referring to his ability to rally his base over the issue.
https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/05/30/colin-...deposition
https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20...-issue-go/
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I don't like government interfering in private business for political or financial gain. I remember when that aligned me with Republicans. Now, Trump does it a lot and I don't hear any Republican lawmakers pushing back. I guess that party principle went out the window with fiscal conservatism and morality.
Anyway, I don't know if Geragos will be able to show that Trump's interference and pressure caused NFL heads to collude against Kaepernick, but it appears to be a central focus in the case.
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I've wanted to laugh like the devil so many times today and every single time this is how I look ---->  Heheheh
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(05-30-2018, 03:47 PM)HairOfTheDog Wrote: You're hopeless Gunnar. You either can't grasp or can't accept what I'm stating about the factors that will impact the legal case.
You just want to keep arguing YOUR opinion in regards to Kaep's talent, work ethic, motivation.........over and over.
As I've said multiple times in multiple ways...........I'm not arguing with YOUR opinion, but your opinion is as irrelevant as mine when it comes to the collusion litigation, period. You're not a party in the case. That's not hard to comprehend, so I'm not gonna keeping going in this loop with you, doofus. You failed to answer the question. I don't blame you.
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The NY Times is reporting they have received leaked audio recordings of an October meeting between Goodell and around 30 owners, where it is made clear Kaepernick is being blackballed to appease Trump.
If anyone felt that shaking, it was the tremble of a shitload of ACLU lawyers all getting erections at the same time. May have tilted the earth off its axis.
Thank god I am oblivious to the opinions of others while caught in the blinding splendor of my own cleverness.
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I get a kick out of all this silliness. A league that took Micheal Vick back into its arms after spending time in prison because he was good is condemned by liberals that hate football with a passion because they would not take Kaepernick back into its arms because he sucked and was protesting police brutality. When it was the cops that kept the peace inside stadiums filled with people that hated each other because of their sports affiliations. It's funny as all hell, welcome to the 21 st century.  These are people that couldn't care less about football bitching about social injustice on this one. Just wow!
It looks like the nutcases figured out a way to try and destroy the game. Especially when it interferes with important stuff like the diversity of the national makeup 7pm on PBS.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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Mags, I seriously wonder if you know where you're at.
You're at Mock. There are a lot of football lovers at Mock. Others at Mock, including me, like football alright, but don't watch frequently. Still others here appear indifferent when it comes to football. The political beliefs/leanings of people within each of those categories varies, which is in no way a problem.
Everybody at Mock is welcome and equally qualified to join this discussion........regardless of their political leanings, regardless of their depth of football knowledge/appreciation, and regardless of their depth of knowledge/appreciation when it comes to legal matters and activism.
I don't recall anyone at Mock claiming to hate football, certainly no one posting in this thread. If the 'silly, football-hating liberals' that you invoked actually exist somewhere, they're not currently here. But, if they make an appearance, they're welcome to join the discussion as well.
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(05-30-2018, 08:02 PM)Donovan Wrote: The NY Times is reporting they have received leaked audio recordings of an October meeting between Goodell and around 30 owners, where it is made clear Kaepernick is being blackballed to appease Trump.
I think the NYT must have uplinked an article from last month today, probably as a result of today's release of related deposition details.
I read the article highlighting the contents of the leaked tapes last month. It's a fascinating and informative read for those interested in issues being explored during litigation. The content of those tapes is key to the collusion case Geragos is currently laying out on behalf of Kaepernick.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/sport...rnick.html
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(05-30-2018, 09:40 PM)Maggot Wrote: It looks like the nutcases figured out a way to try and destroy the game.
trump sure is trying, you're right about that.
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(05-31-2018, 05:29 AM)Duchess Wrote: trump sure is trying, you're right about that.
That aligns with what Bob Kraft and others expressed during the strategy meeting with selected NFL owners, players, and executives back in October. They were very worried that Trump would continue trying to hurt the league/country by repeating his false claims of non-patriotism within the NFL in order to score political points with his base.
From the summary of the meeting tapes:
The New England Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft pointed to another elephant in the room. “This kneeling,” he said.
“The problem we have is, we have a president who will use that as fodder to do his mission that I don’t feel is in the best interests of America,” said Kraft, who is a longtime supporter of Mr. Trump’s. “It’s divisive and it’s horrible.”
The owners were intent on finding a way to avoid Trump’s continued criticism. The president’s persistent jabs on Twitter had turned many fans against the league. Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, who called Trump’s presidency “disastrous,” cautioned against players getting drawn into the president’s tactics.
“We’ve got to be careful not to be baited by Trump or whomever else,” Lurie said. “We have to find a way to not be divided and not get baited.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/sport...rnick.html
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I grew up loving football, still listen to sports radio all day long driving around for work, and am more than familiar with the relative doings of all the major sports. Not just football. Now granted, I lost my hardcore fandom after my Broncos finally won a couple superbowls and I sent them a letter asking for my check for such avid support.
If you listen closely, on a clear day you can still hear them laughing.
Meanwhile, this isn't about whether liberals are trying to sissify football, or which bad behavior is worse than what, or whether or not some players are more deserving of roster spots than others, or any other whataboutism shit the conservative whiners are so good at. It's about workplace legal rights. And what the law says about job discrimination. Doesn't matter if Colin Kaepernick was the world's greatest QB or a fucking janitor. The law says, and I quote: " it is illegal to discriminate against any person based on color, creed, ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability, protected veteran status or as retaliation for political activity not specifically prohibited." These are basic civil rights, many of which were enacted in 1964 before the NFL was even much of a thing. None of it is new or a surprise at this point.
Bottom line: if Colin K can prove he was fired and kept out because of the kneeling and NOT because of skillset, he has a strong case. And it sure is looking solid right now. Hell, the idiot creamsicle in charge is winning it for him with every tweet.
Thank god I am oblivious to the opinions of others while caught in the blinding splendor of my own cleverness.
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(05-31-2018, 09:52 AM)Donovan Wrote: I grew up loving football, still listen to sports radio all day long driving around for work, and am more than familiar with the relative doings of all the major sports. Not just football. Now granted, I lost my hardcore fandom after my Broncos finally won a couple superbowls and I sent them a letter asking for my check for such avid support.
If you listen closely, on a clear day you can still hear them laughing.
Meanwhile, this isn't about whether liberals are trying to sissify football, or which bad behavior is worse than what, or whether or not some players are more deserving of roster spots than others, or any other whataboutism shit the conservative whiners are so good at. It's about workplace legal rights. And what the law says about job discrimination. Doesn't matter if Colin Kaepernick was the world's greatest QB or a fucking janitor. The law says, and I quote: " it is illegal to discriminate against any person based on color, creed, ethnicity, religious affiliation, disability, protected veteran status or as retaliation for political activity not specifically prohibited." These are basic civil rights, many of which were enacted in 1964 before the NFL was even much of a thing. None of it is new or a surprise at this point.
Bottom line: if Colin K can prove he was fired and kept out because of the kneeling and NOT because of skillset, he has a strong case. And it sure is looking solid right now. Hell, the idiot creamsicle in charge is winning it for him with every tweet. Therein lies the problem. His body of work doesn't suggest he has a good skillset.
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Dono, you made valid points and I appreciate you laying out where you’re coming from.
Here’s the reason I think Kaep will not win his case:
He opted out of his contract and left the 49ers in March of 2017 to become an unrestricted free agent.
He wasn’t cut.
He left on his own accord and thought someone would present an even better contract to him as a FA.
Now, if you ask me, do I believe GM’s around the league had this conversation:
“Hey, are you going to take a swing at Kaep?”
“Nope, my owner says don’t touch him with a 10 foot pole.”
I’d believe those conversations occurred.
But, is that collusion? Or is it each individual owner deciding he doesn’t need the baggage that would come along with him?
Do I think the commish sent out (not in writing of course) a league wide edict that said “don’t sign Kaep”?
Nope, I don’t.
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Nobody wanted any crap, just someone to throw the friggin ball. There are plenty out there and its not like he was super great. It's not tough to come up with that conclusion, common sense all the way.
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The problem rises from the fact that commander cheetoh kept publicly railing on the kneeling thing, the NFL has suddenly imposed a fine which will be subject to immediate lawsuit based on constitutionality, and now they say there is audio of thirty owners admitting they blackballed him. THAT is where his case will be won. It isn't about skillset at all and he knows it. And truthfully this probably suits his political motivation far more than going back on the field.
Thank god I am oblivious to the opinions of others while caught in the blinding splendor of my own cleverness.
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It wasn't like they showed them kneeling on television or the fans booing them. It really didn't matter much to me either way they could blow each other for all I care, just play ball.
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.
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(05-31-2018, 10:29 PM)Donovan Wrote: The problem rises from the fact that commander cheetoh kept publicly railing on the kneeling thing, the NFL has suddenly imposed a fine which will be subject to immediate lawsuit based on constitutionality, and now they say there is audio of thirty owners admitting they blackballed him. THAT is where his case will be won. It isn't about skillset at all and he knows it. And truthfully this probably suits his political motivation far more than going back on the field.
If there really is an audio tape that would clinch it for him.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the tape doesn’t exist.
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A couple days ago his attorney said something dramatic was about to be made public but I guess that's what attorneys sometimes say.
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(06-01-2018, 02:48 PM)Midwest Spy Wrote: If there really is an audio tape that would clinch it for him.
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the tape doesn’t exist.
There really is a leaked tape, which we covered upthread.
I think that's the one that Donovan is referencing: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/25/sport...rnick.html
The NYT summary of some of the tape's content shows the owners, coaches, and players who were in the room were concerned and strategizing about how to handle Trump's damaging rhetoric and interference.
A player brought up Kaepernick specifically during the meeting but the coaches and owners did not speak of him (again, only based on the audio content summary from the NYT).
The NYT summary released to the public does not show collusion on its own.
However, Kaepernick's attorney says the audio proves collusion and that he has more evidence as well.
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