In a major blow to the N.F.L., an arbitrator has ruled that Colin Kaepernick’s collusion case can proceed because he has produced sufficient evidence that the league and its owners colluded to keep him off the field.
The ruling by Stephen B. Burbank, an arbitrator who was appointed by the league and the N.F.L. Players Association, said lawyers for Kaepernick, a free-agent quarterback, had unearthed enough information in the past year for the case to proceed to a full hearing. After months of depositions and document searches, the lawyers will be able to question league officials, owners and others in a trial-like format.