Former NFL quarterback, Colin Kaepernick has officially settled his collusion case with the league.
Both Kaepernick and former player Eric Reid both accused the NFL of blacklisting them for engaging in a National Anthem kneeling protest in 2016 to raise awareness of police brutality. Details and specifics of the settlement are being kept confidential.
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“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,” a joint statement from all the parities involved read.
โ Mark Geragos (@markgeragos) February 15, 2019
The NFL Players Association also released a statement as well, commenting on the grievance settlement.
“Today, we were informed by the NFL of the settlement of the Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid collusion cases. We are not privy to the details of the settlement, but support the decision by the players and their counsel,” The NFLPA said.
โ NFLPA (@NFLPA) February 15, 2019
“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 group added. “We are glad that Eric has earned a job and a new contract [from the Carolina Panthers], and we continue to hope that Colin gets his opportunity as well.”
Since news of the settlement agreement broke, many of Kaepernick’s supporters have been commenting on it on social media.
“To recap: Colin Kaepernick used his platform, sacrificing his #NFL career to incite a 2+ year nationwide conversation about racial and social injustice. In the end, he seemingly proved NFL owners colluded to keep him out of the NFL & he STILL got paid. Well done [Kaepernick],” former NFL player, and current ESPN analyst, Emmanuel Acho said.
How the people who swore Colin Kaepernick wasnโt in the NFL because of talent reacted when they saw the league settled Kaepernickโs collusion case pic.twitter.com/HcPxav536L
โ Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) February 15, 2019
There have been rumors swirling that Kaepernick requested and received $20 million in financial compensation for the settlement, but many outlets are reporting that this amount is unconfirmed.
Notably, sports journalist Darren Rovell stated, “$20 million number floating around on Colin Kaepernick for what he wanted to sign with the new upstart AAF is not completely accurate. I was told he wanted MORE.”
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