Colin Kaepernick’s Lawyer Says They’ll Get a ‘Smoking Gun’

By Jack Phillips
October 19, 2017 Last Updated: October 19, 2017
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick went just 2–6 as starter last season for the San Francisco 49ers. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s lawyer claims that he will find a “smoking gun” to get him back playing in the league.

Mark Geragos, the lawyer for the free agent quarterback, said that he believes there is incriminating evidence that shows NFL team owners colluded to keep him out of the league.

“I am going to predict right now that we will have a smoking gun,” Geragos told CNN. “I’m not going to alert who it will be or what it will be. We have a high degree of confidence that this will be able to be proved and that there are people who are going to get into an arbitration proceeding, and they’re not going to lie. They’re going to tell the truth.”

“They’re going to say what happens — that they were told no, they’re not going to hire him.”

On Sunday, Kaepernick filed a grievance with the league and its owners, saying they “entered into an enforced, implied and/or express agreements to specifically deprive” him, the New York Times reported.

“It’s beyond any doubt that he should be playing in the league and that’s all he really wants,” said Geragos.

On Wednesday, NFL owners met and the league came to the conclusion that players don’t have to stand for the national anthem.

This prompted President Donald Trump to fire off a tweet, saying: “The NFL has decided that it will not force players to stand for the playing of our National Anthem. Total disrespect for our great country!”

Legal experts have said that Kaepernick’s legal battle is an uphill one, as it will be difficult to prove collusion.

Members of the Dallas Cowboys take a knee before the start of the national anthem at an NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Sept. 25, 2017. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

“An inference that he was not signed—even arguable if ‘worse’ players were—is not going to be enough,” Mark Conrad, who is an associate professor of law and ethics at Fordham University, told the Times.

“Many remember the baseball collusion cases of the 1980s, but in those cases, there was some clear evidence of attempts to limit signings of free agents. Here, Kaepernick’s attorneys will have to show that kind of evidence—conversations, emails, notes.”

He did not file the grievance through the NFL Player’s Association, although the NFLPA said that it would back the move.

“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,” the statement said.