Jun 7, 2018

Colin Kaepernick targets Trump in lawsuit against NFL

Colin Kaepernick on an NFL sideline. Photo: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

Colin Kaepernick's lawyers are expected to seek federal subpoenas of President Trump and Vice President Pence in Kaepernick's collusion case against the NFL in an attempt to gain more information about the administration's contact with league owners over the league's national anthem protests, reports Yahoo Sports.

The big picture: Recordings released earlier this year revealed NFL team owners are terrified of Trump speaking out against the league because of player protests during the national anthem. That forced a rule change from the league, requiring players on the field during the anthem to stand, propelling the issue back into the zeitgeist and culminating with Trump's decision to disinvite the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles from the White House earlier this week.

  • Kaepernick has gone unsigned since the anthem protests gained steam, leading some players in the league to suspect that he's been blackballed by owners. As player Eric Reid stated during last year's player-owner meeting:
“I feel like he was hung out to dry. Everyone in here is talking about how much they support us. Nobody stepped up and said we support Colin’s right to do this. We all let him become public enemy number one in this country, and he still doesn’t have a job.”

The problem: Getting testimony from Trump won't be easy for Kaepernick and his lawyers.

  • Thanks to collective bargaining laws, Kaepernick's request for a subpoena outside of the scope of his contract with the NFL must also be allowed by an arbitrator in the case.
  • Even if Kaepernick were allowed to subpoena Trump, there's an open question if it would even matter. Using his presidential powers, Trump could potentially simply ignore the subpoena — and any attempt to enforce it would require more legal action from Kaepernick.
  • The bottom line: If Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani doesn't think Trump can be subpoenaed in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, the same goes for any subpoena from Kaepernick.

Go deeper

U.S. coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios. This graphic includes "probable deaths" that New York City began reporting on April 14.

More than 62,300 U.S. health care workers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and at least 291 have died from the virus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Tuesday. COVID-19 had infected about 9,300 health professionals when the CDC gave its last update on April 17.

By the numbers: More than 98,900 people have died from COVID-19 and over 1.6 million have tested positive in the U.S. Over 384,900 Americans have recovered and more than 14.9 million tests have been conducted.

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 38 mins ago - Health

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 11:00 p.m. ET: 5,589,626 — Total deaths: 350,453 — Total recoveries — 2,286,956 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 11:00 p.m. ET: 1,680,913 — Total deaths: 98,913 — Total recoveries: 384,902 — Total tested: 14,907,041 — Map.
  3. Federal response: DOJ investigates meatpacking industry over soaring beef prices — Mike Pence's press secretary returns to work.
  4. Congress: House Republicans to sue Nancy Pelosi in effort to block proxy voting.
  5. Business: How the new workplace could leave parents behind.
  6. Tech: Twitter fact-checks Trump's tweets about mail-in voting for first time — Google to open offices July 6 for 10% of workers.
  7. Public health: Coronavirus antibodies could give "short-term immunity," CDC says, but more data is needed— CDC releases guidance on when you can be around others after contracting the virus.
  8. What should I do? When you can be around others after contracting the coronavirus — Traveling, asthma, dishes, disinfectants and being contagious — Masks, lending books and self-isolating — Exercise, laundry, what counts as soap — Pets, moving and personal health — Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — How to minimize your risk.
  9. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it, the right mask to wear.

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Updated 48 mins ago - Politics & Policy

World coronavirus updates

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Axios Visuals

There are no COVID-19 patients in hospital in New Zealand, which reported just 21 active cases after days of zero new infections. A top NZ health official said Tuesday he's "confident we have broken the chain of domestic transmission."

By the numbers: Almost 5.5 million people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of Tuesday, and more than 2.2 million have recovered. The U.S. has reported the most cases in the world (over 1.6 million from 14.9 million tests).

Go deeper (2 min. read)ArrowUpdated 1 hour ago - Health