Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017 alleging that he remains unsigned as a result of collusion by... (Associated Press) 
 
 This Dec. 24, 2016 photo shows San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick talking during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams. Kaepernick filed a grievance against... (Associated Press) 
 
 NEW YORK (AP) — Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL on Sunday, alleging that he remains unsigned as a result of collusion by owners following his protests during the national anthem. Kaepernick started a national conversation about political activism by athletes last season when he decided to sit, and then kneel, during the anthem to bring attention to mistreatment of African-Americans by police. Other players have continued the protests this season, prompting an angry response from President Donald Trump, who said players should be fired for not standing during the anthem. Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers at the end of last season and remains a free agent despite a rash of injuries and poor play at the quarterback position. Kaepernick's attorney, Mark Geragos, released a statement on why the grievance was filed, via Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network: 
 
 Kaepernick opted out of his contract at the conclusion of last season with the expectation he would find a new landing spot but has not gotten a new deal and has received surprisingly little interest compared to how well he played last season. "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 theater imitating weeks ago — should not be punished," Geragos said in the statement, "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." 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. "Colin Kaepernick's goal has always been, and remains, to simply be treated fairly by the league he performed at the highest level for and to return to the football playing field," Geragos said.
– Colin Kaepernick, still unsigned six weeks into the NFL season, believes he is being blackballed for his role in protests during the national anthem and has filed a grievance against NFL owners. The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback became a free agent at the end of last season and has failed to land a contract despite impressive statistics and injuries to other quarterbacks. His complaint accuses team owners of collusion, which Sports Illustrated defines as what happens when "two or more teams, or the league and at least one team, join to deprive a player of a contractually earned right," including the right of a free-agent player to negotiate a contract. Last year, Kaepernick was the first player to protest racial injustice by refusing to stand for the anthem. If the NFL is to remain a meritocracy, "principled and peaceful political protest ... should not be punished," his attorney, Mark Geragos, said in a statement, per Bleacher Report. Kaepernick's grievance was filed under the latest collective bargaining agreement and the NFL player's union says it is supporting him. Former 49ers teammate Eric Reid, who started kneeling during the anthem soon after Kaepernick began his protest, tells the AP that it "sure seems like he is being blackballed." "I think all the stats prove that he's an NFL-worthy quarterback," he says. "So that's his choice and I support his decision."