Are You Ready For Some… ARBITRATION????

(Photo by Steve Dykes/Getty Images)

All right, everybody huddle up and… take a knee. Arbitrator Stephen Burbank denied the NFL’s summary judgement motion in Colin Kaepernick’s collusion case against the National Football League. And that means we’ll get a full arbitration hearing on Kaepernick’s grievance, sometime this year, according to reports.

Sports Illustrated has a really great write-up about the possible ramifications of Burbank’s decision for Kaepernick and the league as a whole. I don’t have anything substantive to add to their report, so I encourage you to read it. But… I can quote a couple of passages and make LOUD NOISES if that entertains you. I mean… it works for Stephen A. Smith:

A key element of Kaepernick’s argument is that owners are fearful about the capacity and the willingness of President Donald Trump—an ardent critic of Kaepernick and of other players who kneel during the anthem—to damage the league’s business and legal interests…

To be clear, Trump opining about Kaepernick or even the President openly discouraging owners from signing Kaepernick would not prove collusion. Trump, for purposes of the CBA, is merely a third party. Collusion requires some combination of governed parties—be they multiple teams or the league and at least one team—colluding.

[Stephen A. voice] Let me tell you something, Max, Donald Trump, the PRESIDENT of these United States, is not helping. Okay? He is NOT HELPING the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE. That’s right, I said it.

[John] Elway recently shared his depiction of his testimony in response to a press conference question posed by The Athletic writer Nicki Jhabvala. Elway’s answer raised questions about why he was interested in paying Kaepernick $7 million in April 2016 but not at all interested in Kaepernick in March 2017—especially after Kaepernick had played better in the 2016 season than in the previous campaign. Burbank might have interpreted Elway’s changed position as related not to Kaepernick’s play but instead to Kaepernick’s anthem protests, which began in August 2016.

John Elway is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game, alright? But as a general manager, as a LEADER of FOOTBALL OPERATIONS, He. Has. Been. A. Disaster. Why would this… arbitrationist listen to what Elway thinks about football? Elway not signing Kaepernick doesn’t prove a massive collusion conspiracy on the part of NFL owners. It just proves that Elway doesn’t know what he is doing.

For NFL owners and league executives, being called to testify at Kaepernick’s trial will be, at a minimum, disruptive. This is particularly the case since the hearing will likely occur during the NFL regular season. Obviously, their schedules are extremely busy during this part of the year. In addition to having to expend their limited time and energy on a legal dispute, owners will need to be careful that their trial testimony is consistent with the testimony they previously gave during their depositions. If they change their accounts, Burbank will be much less inclined to believe them. In such scenario, it would also be possible that the owners would have perjured themselves.

It’s a distraction, Max, a DISTRACTION. You got your games. You got your… ticket sales. CONCESSIONS. That’s what owners want to be focusing on during the REGULAR SEASON, okay? Not some legalsuit controversy.

Expect some owners to privately encourage the NFL to now try to strike a settlement with Kaepernick in order to avert a trial…

But like tango, a settlement takes two. It’s not at all clear that Kaepernick is even open to a financial settlement, let alone what he would demand in a settlement. Kaepernick appears to view his grievance more as a tool for social justice rather than a means for money.

Ya see. YA SEE. Kaepernick is just some glory boy. He don’t want to play no ball. JACKIE ROBINSON, one of the greatest living Americans who is now dead. And a BLACK MAN, Max. People forget that sometimes. Jackie would have just TAKEN THE MONEY and played ball. He didn’t NEED to be a society warrior, he just wanted to PLAY, he led BY EXAMPLE. Kaepernick, even if the NFL gives him money, which I WOULD NOT do, he wouldn’t take it. Because it’s all about HIM, not THE GAME OF FOOTBALL.

Stephen A. Smith is trash. Jemelle Hill has more intelligence in one of her braids than Stephen A has in his entire head.

And… in NFL v. Kaepernick, the NFL built an early lead. But Stephen Burbank just cut the power and now Kaepernick has the ball in his hands. I wouldn’t count him out.

Why the Arbitrator Ruled in Favor of Colin Kaepernick, and What This Means for the NFL [Sports Illustrated]

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Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

Are You Ready For Some… ARBITRATION???? curated from Above the Law