Colin Kaepernick's attorneys targeting Donald Trump for possible subpoena in NFL collusion case

A.J. Perez | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Eagles respond to White House disinvitation Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson and players responded to the White House controversy at their practice on Wednesday.

Attorneys for Colin Kaepernick will likely seek to subpoena President Trump as part of the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback’s collusion case against the NFL, USA TODAY Sports confirmed Thursday.

Kaepernick’s lawyers have already made informal attempts to coordinate and schedule depositions with Trump, Vice President Pence and other administration officials, according to a person with knowledge of the talks who requested anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions.



Yahoo Sports was the first outlet to report Thursday of efforts to depose Trump.

Kaepernick filed a grievance against the NFL in October, alleging the owners conspired to keep him out of the league over his kneeling protest during the national anthem. His protest was initiated to draw attention to police brutality and racial inequality. Kaepernick went unsigned after becoming a free agent in March 2017 and had his lone scheduled workout with an NFL team canceled in April by the Seattle Seahawks.

Kaepernick’s legal team, led by famed defense attorney Mark Geragos, would need to convince the arbitrator in the case that seeking to subpoena Trump and others in his administration is crucial. And even if the arbitrator gives the approval, a federal judge would also need to sign off on a subpoena sought in U.S. District Court under the Federal Arbitration Act.

The argument to the arbitrator and, potentially, to a federal judge would be straightforward: Trump’s conversations with several NFL owners and his rhetoric over the kneeling protests make his testimony vital to Kaepernick’s case.

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If Kaepernick’s attorneys succeed, Trump’s lawyers are likely to fight the subpoena, potentially raising some of the same arguments as part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

"Tell everybody, you can't win this one," Trump told Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, according to The Wall Street Journal. "This one lifts me." Jones shared those comments in a deposition obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

Along with Jones, several other NFL owners have been deposed as part of Kaepernick’s collusion case, as well as NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.



