Colin Kaepernick’s lawyer went on the attack against President Donald Trump, after filing a grievance against the owners of the NFL for refusing to hire his client.

Through attorney Mark Geragos, Kaepernick filed a grievance under the players’ collective bargaining agreement claiming that the NFL owners colluded to keep him out of pro football.

Along with his union filing, Geragos issued a statement blasting President Trump and the league for his client’s idle season, Forbes reported.

“If the NFL (as well as all professional sports leagues) is to remain a meritocracy, then principled and peaceful protest — which the owners themselves made great theater imitating two weeks ago — should not be punished, and athletes should not be denied employment based on partisan political provocation by the executive branch of our government,” the layer said.

Statement from Mark Geragos, counsel for Colin Kaepernick. pic.twitter.com/Z7rWpuwb2g — ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 15, 2017

Geragos also claimed that the former San Francisco 49ers second string quarterback had attempted to pursue “every possible avenue with NFL teams and their executives.”

The lawyer then tried to link Kaepernick’s case to larger societal issues, saying, “Such a precedent (of collusion) threatens all patriotic Americans and hearkens back to our darkest days as a nation. Protecting all athletes from such collusive conduct is what compelled Mr. Kaepernick to file his grievance.”

Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.