Attorneys for former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick notified the NFL Friday that they plan to depose some NFL team owners as part of the collusion case Kaepernick is bringing against the league.
Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, New England Patriots’ Robert Kraft and Houston Texans’ Bob McNair will be among the owners questioned by Kaepernick’s legal team and asked to turn their cellphone records and emails related to Kaepernick over to the court, according to ESPN.
Seattle Seahawks’ Paul Allen, San Francisco 49ers’ Jed York and other team and league officials will also be questioned, ESPN reported. The owners reportedly were chosen based on their public remarks about Kaepernick or the protests during the national anthem.
Kaepernick filed a grievance in October alleging that the team owners colluded about not signing Kaepernick to an NFL contract because of his part in starting the protests in 2016, which have become more widespread this season.
When he filed the grievance, Kaepernick tweeted that he had pursued "every possible avenue with all NFL teams and their executives" before doing so, ESPN reported. He alleged that his actions in protesting during the anthem are behind the decision by all 32 NFL teams not to hire him.
Kaepernick’s filing also suggested that he blamed President Donald Trump for his blackballing, the New York Post reported.
The quarterback opted out of his 49ers contract in March and has not been able to find another team to sign him, the Post reported.
A CNN poll taken in September showed that 49 percent of respondents thought the protests were the "wrong thing" to do while 43 percent thought it was the "right thing."