AFTER MONTHS OF ongoing conversations around Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid’s grievances filed against the NFL, all sides have reached an agreement.
Kaepernick and Reid’s final hearings were scheduled for this month, but the settlement was reached before final evidence was presented to arbitrator Stephen Burbank.
The NFL released a joint statement on Friday, revealing grievances have now been resolved.
“For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL.” the statement said.
“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.”
It was reported Kaepernick had withdrawn his collusion complaint against the NFL, noting that the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback would only withdraw “if a lucrative settlement was secured.”
The NFL Players Association (NFLPA) also acknowledged the two sides had settled and said the organisation “support(s) the decision by the players and their counsel.”
Today, we were informed by the NFL of the settlement of the Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid collusion cases.” An NFLPA statement said. “We are not privy to the details of the settlement, but support the decision by the players and their counsel.
“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.
“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.”
In 2016, Kaepernick became the first player to take a knee during the national anthem in protest against social and racial inequality.
He filed his grievance against the NFL in October 2017 as part of the league’s collective bargaining agreement. His former San Francisco team-mate, Reid, filed a similar grievance in May.
Reid signed with the Carolina Panthers to start the 2018 season, and recently signed a three-year deal, while Kaepernick remains a free agent.
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The way these two guys were treated justfor standing up for their civil rights is disgusting and a lasting stain on the reputation of the NFL. In fact but for the NIKE campaign with Kaepernick this case would probably not been settled in this way. SHAME ON THE NFL
Cash money $$$$$$
All about the money
@ger gavin: Well yeah, this case was all about the money the nfl prevented them from earning.
@Dave O Keeffe: I thought it was a civil rights case , paid off go away
Disappointing result- no real resolution . Suggests the agreement was $ related.
I thought this was about other issues?
@Enda Layng: the protest was about other issues. Suing the NFL was never aimed at improving the lives of the average black America.
@Dave O Keeffe: why would he accept their money without proving his point in public….the nfl are laughing…..money well spent
You can be guaranteed the Colin keapernick is not short of money even from his early NFL contracts and what Nike paid him for that add alone…..I thought he was so right for standing up for what he believed in but he has tarnished all that by accepting the NFL’s money while they have proofed that they were wrong and did conspire against him. Hope the $60 million is worth it.
@Gary Conroy: this is a really disappointing development from whatever angle you look at it.
If you believe, as you do, that CK was in the right and had at his disposal hard evidence to back up his case then he should have brought the NFL to court. This would have demonstrated their racism and no doubt resulted in change.
However, if you’re like me and believe that CK was never the victim of collusion and the NFL needed to clear its name the result is again disappointing. For me CK accepting a payoff is a reflection of the weakness of his argument and moreover, his true motive.
The topic of BLM is very interesting. It’s worth reading the thoughts of Larry Elder, Heather MacDonald and Ben Shapiro on the subject.
Plus he prob would have got more if he went to court….32 team having to pay = $$$$$