Colin Kaepernick’s legal team is reportedly preparing to subpoena President Donald Trump to prove that there was political influence that resulted in the NFL colluding and black-balling the star quarterback.
The federal subpoena is expected to be issued in the coming weeks, according to a source who spoke to Yahoo. Colin Kaepernick’s legal team is seeking testimony from Trump Vice President Mike Pence and other officials familiar with the president’s agenda on protesting NFL players, sources said.
According to Yahoo Sports, the other people on the deposition list include the following: Three NFL owners (Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft and Houston Texans’ Bob McNair); two head coaches (Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh and Seattle Seahawks’ Pete Carroll); two general managers (Ravens’ Ozzie Newsome and Seahawks’ John Schneider); and two NFL executives (Executive Vice President of Operations Troy Vincent and Senior Vice President of Player Engagement Arthur McAfee).
The deposition list is part of a grievance case filed by Kaepernick against the NFL which claims that the NFL blacklisted him after he spearheaded the National Anthem protests that have sparked controversy around the nation. Kaepernick has not been picked up by another NFL team since leaving the 49ers, and he believes that the NLF is colluding against him to keep him out of the sport.
According to Yahoo Sports, this is where things get tricky.
The rules of the collective bargaining grievances, makes it hard to get sworn testimony from politicians.
The process requires Kaepernick’s legal team to first must “notify the system arbitrator of the need for targeted depositions beyond the boundaries of the agreement between the NFL and the player’s union.”
Then a detailed and compelling argument must follow outlining the grievance. The arbitrator must rule in favor that the argument is compelling enough to subpoena Trump. It would prove difficult to get a sitting President to testify in this case.