Monday 16 October 2017 14:17, UK
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has filed a grievance against the NFL claiming he remains unsigned as a result of collusion by owners, following his protests during the national anthem.
Kaepernick, who was the first in a series of athletes to sit, and then kneel, during the anthem to protest against racial injustice and police brutality, remains a free agent after he opted out of his contract with the 49ers at the end of last season.
Mark Geragos, one of Kaepernick's solicitors, released a statement on Twitter on Sunday that suggested the action was being taken "only after pursuing every possible avenue".
"We can confirm that this morning we filed a grievance under the CBA on behalf of Colin Kaepernick," said Geragos in the statement. "This was done only after pursuing every possible avenue with all NFL teams and their executives.
"If the NFL (as well as all professional sports leagues) is to remain a meritocracy, then principled and peaceful political protest - which the owners themselves made great theatre imitating weeks ago - should not be punished and athletes should not be denied employment based on partisan political provocation by the Executive Branch of our government.
"Such a precedent threatens all patriotic Americans and harkens back to our darkest days as a nation. Protecting all athletes from such collusive conduct is what compelled Mr. Kaepernick to file his grievance.
"Colin Kaepernick's goal has always been, and remains, to simply be treated fairly by the league he performed in at the highest level and to return to the football playing field."
Since the start of the new campaign there have been further examples of players continuing their protests which prompted an angry response from President Trump, who said players should be fired for not standing during the anthem.
The NFL players' union said it would support the grievance, which was filed through the arbitration system that's part of the league's collective bargaining agreement.
"Our union has a duty to assist Mr. Kaepernick as we do all players and we will support him," the NFLPA said in a statement.
"The NFLPA has been in regular contact with Mr. Kaepernick's representatives for the past year about his options and our union agreed to follow the direction of his advisers throughout that time.
"We first learned through media reports today that Mr. Kaepernick filed a grievance claiming collusion through our arbitration system and is represented by his own counsel. We learned that the NFL was informed of his intention to file this grievance before today.
"We are scheduling a call with his advisers for early this week."
