Colin Kaepernick and the NFL Settle Collusion Case

Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, left, and safety Eric Reid kneel during the national anthem before a game against the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 2, 2016

Raquel Perry, Reporter

Famous quarterback Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid have settled their respective collusion grievances against the NFL, the sides announced on Friday.

“For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL. As a result of those discussions, the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances. The resolution of this matter is subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment by any party,” The joint public statement stated.

Colin Kaepernick has been the focal point for the most controversial sports protest in 2016 when Kaepernick and several other players in the league joined him in kneeling during the national anthem. He said that the did the gesture to protest against police brutality and racial discrimination in America. Kaepernick eventually became a central talking point for most Americans and it inspired a major advertisement campaign by Nike.

Eric Reid, one of his teammates in San Francisco who also knelt alongside him, subsequently signed with the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers re-signed Reid to a three-year contract earlier this week.

Kaepernick’s grievance against the NFL was filed more than a year after the protest. NFL and Attorney Mark Geragos, who filed the grievance, says that the NFL and team owners “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.”

The terms of the settlements are unknown at this point, but Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman speculated a great deal of profit for Kaepernick and the NFLA says that it supports the decision by Kaepernick and Reid.

“We continuously supported Colin and Eric from the start of their protests, participated with their lawyers throughout their legal proceedings and were prepared to participate in the upcoming trial in pursuit of both truth and justice for what we believe the NFL and its clubs did to them,” the players union said. “We are glad that Eric has earned a job and a new contract, and we continue to hope that Colin gets his opportunity as well.”