KAEPERNICK SUES FOR COLLUSION

[Donovan]

HotD is correct. That is the tape I am talking about. The funny thing no one seems to reference or remember is that the anthem was NEVER a moment of reverence in the NFL before they seized on the patriotic fever after 9-11. Used to be, the anthem wasn't even televised and the players sat around the locker room before games. But the NFL started cranking up the military hype machine, and all of a sudden "support the troops" was synonymous with NFL pregame. That was when players started standing for the anthem, never before. And nobody gave two shits.

[Midwest Spy]

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.

I guess that was my contention:

Whatever tape was out there, would not be the so-called Smoking Gun (shout out to Robert Cray).

I’m not dismissing the idea that some other evidence may exist, I’m just of the opinion he won’t win his case.

[HairOfTheDog]

Trump and Pence to Testify?

Kaepernick’s legal team is expected to seek federal subpoenas in the coming weeks to compel testimony from Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other officials familiar with the president’s agenda on protesting NFL players, sources with knowledge of the quarterback’s collusion case against the NFL told Yahoo Sports.

Due to the nature of the rules in collective bargaining grievances, reeling in sworn testimony from the political sector will create at least one additional hurdle for Kaepernick’s camp. The quarterback’s legal team first must notify the system arbitrator of the need for targeted depositions beyond the boundaries of the agreement between the NFL and the player’s union.

That would entail presenting a detailed argument to the system arbitrator overseeing the grievance, spelling out the relevance and impact that testimony from Trump or others could have on the grievance. If the arbitrator rules the testimony would be justifiable, that would open the door for Kaepernick’s attorneys to seek the subpoenas in a district court under the Federal Arbitration Act.

The aim will be a dive into the administration’s political involvement with the NFL during Kaepernick’s free agency and the league’s handling of player protests, sources said. This after recent disclosures that multiple owners had direct talks with Trump about players kneeling during the national anthem. The content of those conversations between Trump and owners – as well as any forms of pressure directed at the league by the administration – are expected to shape the requests to force the testimony of Trump, Pence and other affiliated officials, sources said.

Full piece: https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-colin-k...14523.html

[HairOfTheDog]

After originally praising the NFL's cave requiring players to stand or stay in the locker room in May, President Trump has been stirring the pot again by interfering in private business to keep his base riled up and outraged by what he sees as a 'winning' issue for him politically.

The topic has dogged the league ever since the 2016 season, in part because President Donald Trump grabbed the issue and has continued to criticize the players, even as the NFL tried to put out the long-playing public relations firestorm.

Recent rally rhetoric by the president includes his assertion that the NFL's new policy of allowing the players to remain in the locker room will not stand and is worse than protesting.

This week, The NFL players' union filed a non-injury grievance on behalf of all players challenging the NFL’s recently imposed anthem policy. The union’s claim is that this new policy, imposed by the NFL’s governing body without consultation with the NFLPA, is inconsistent with the collective bargaining agreement and infringes on player rights.

"In advance of our filing today, we proposed to the NFL to begin confidential discussions with the NFLPA Executive Committee to find a solution to this issue instead of immediately proceeding with litigation. The NFL has agreed to proceed with those discussions and we look forward to starting them soon." The statement says that the sides will try to arrive at a solution, via negotiations, before the grievance lands in court.

Ref: http://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nfl/news/...tnuzlkagli

[HairOfTheDog]

Yesterday, the arbitrator hearing Kaepernick’s grievance dismissed the N.F.L.’s bid to throw out the case.  The judge determined that Kaepernick’s lawyers had unearthed enough credible evidence during the first stages of discovery to allow the case to go forward.

Snip:
A case that was originally about Kaepernick’s skills has turned into something much larger: a referendum on his politics, free speech and even his legacy. N.F.L. teams have signed players who have beaten their spouses and run operations that killed dogs for sport, but protesting during the national anthem may prove to be the unforgivable sin, it seems.

This sets the stage for owners and league executives to be questioned in a trial-like setting. Kaepernick faces an uphill legal battle, but even proceeding to a full hearing amounts to a victory because it allows his lawyers to continue to search for evidence of collusion, while keeping Kaepernick’s name in the news during the N.F.L. season, when attention on football is at its peak.

The league has been desperately trying to extinguish the continuing protests — which are an attempt to raise awareness about police brutality and economic inequality — and the fiery debate they have sparked. But the case is expected to drag on for months, so the league could reach a deal to pay Kaepernick damages equal to twice what he might have made if he were still playing.

In a normal case, Kaepernick, who hasn’t played since 2016, might decide he has won enough already, agree to a settlement, walk away with millions of dollars and move on with his life. Or some team in a progressive city could just put Kaepernick on a roster for the season, which could take a lot of steam out of his complaints.

This, however, is not a normal case. Both sides appear to be fighting over principle rather than dollars.

Full story:  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/sport...e=Homepage

[Duchess]

The judge determined that Kaepernick’s lawyers had unearthed enough credible evidence during the first stages of discovery to allow the case to go forward.

I'm sorta looking forward to this. I think it's going to be very interesting. I won't be surprised if I learn people did try to keep him off the off the field by blacklisting him.

[HairOfTheDog]

It's definitely going to be interesting to see how it plays out now that Kaepernick has won his first victory with the arbitrator.

He sure seems to have the support of a lot of professional athletes who don't have to worry about repercussions from the NFL when they speak out.

Yesterday, badass Serena Williams was interviewed following her victory against her sister Venus at the U.S. Open.  Kaepernick and Eric Reid were in the crowd of spectators.  During a victory interview, Serena focused on Kaepernick and Reid and had this to say:

"I think every athlete, every human, and definitely every African-American should be completely grateful and honored how Colin and Eric are doing so much more for the greater good, so to say," Williams said. "They really use their platform in ways that is really unfathomable. I feel like they obviously have great respect from a lot of their peers, especially other athletes, people that really are looking for social change." https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/seren...aepernick/

That respect and support won't likely help or hurt Kaepernick in his labor dispute with the NFL.  But, it's gotta feel good.

[HairOfTheDog]

^ On the other side of the coin, there are plenty of people who use the NFL protest issue to vent their disrespectful and bigoted bullshit. 

Those are the people President Trump is looking to rile up and energize when he attacks NFL players and the league, in my opinion. 

Here's one such asshole.




Carla Maloney was a Republican county official in Pennsylvania.

She posted a rant last year in which she called African American NFL players “baboons” and “over paid ignorant blacks” while suggesting they return to Africa.

She went on to spew about being a patriotic victim of reverse racism and how that's going to lead to a civil war sooner or later.

Maloney resigned from her GOP post after the screenshots from her Facebook rants were published last week.  https://people.com/politics/pa-republica...s-baboons/

[BigMark]

She's a fucking idiot.

[Duchess]

Maloney resigned from her GOP post after the screenshots from her Facebook rants were published last week. 

Good! I wouldn't be opposed to her being socially shunned as well.

[BigMark]

What a great little marxist you are, for christ fucking sake.

[Duchess]

Thanks! *flexes*    

[Duchess]

Racist hogs deserve to be shunned.

[Duchess]

Woooo. Look at who is the face of Nike's 30^th anniversary of "Just do it" campaign.

Nike selected former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick as the face of its "Just Do It" campaign, which is celebrating its 30^th anniversary.

Darren Rovell of ESPN reported the choice of Kaepernick, who started the movement to kneel during the United States national anthem to protest racial injustice in August 2016.

"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," he told Steve Wyche of NFL Media about the decision two years ago. "To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder."

[url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2793994-colin-kaepernick-named-face-of-nikes-30^th-anniversary-of-just-do-it-campaign]Story[/url]

[Duchess]

Christ on a cracker! I can't figure out how to get the link in. Ahahahahaha!  

Forgive me! I suck.

[HairOfTheDog]

That's cool -- good for Kaepernick and Nike!

"We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward," Gino Fisanotti, Nike's vice president of brand for North America, told ESPN.

Other athletes in the Just Do It campaign include Odell Beckham Jr., Shaquem Griffin, Lacey Baker, Serena Williams and LeBron James.

"We wanted to energize its meaning and introduce 'Just Do It' to a new generation of athletes," Fisanotti said.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/24568...just-do-30^th-anniversary-campaign

[HairOfTheDog]

Following the Kaepernick/Nike announcement, the hashtags #BoycottNike and #JustBurnIt started trending on Twitter and the company's shares started falling. 

Some angry consumers even posted photos and videos of themselves burning their Nike shoes and other gear to protest the company.



I can't imagine that Nike didn't expect such protests.

The company appears to be banking on being on the right side of the issue (financially and culturally) and attracting more customers than it loses from the campaign ad in the long run.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...e-backlash

[Duchess]

Some angry consumers even posted photos and videos of themselves burning their Nike shoes and other gear to protest the company.

Owning Libs across America.

...by trashin' their own stuff.

[Maggot]

I thought it was decided not to televise the national anthem anymore. That would solve the issue.

[BigMark]