Colin Kaepernick won a small but important victory on Thursday in his collusion claim against the NFL. The NFL filed a motion for summary judgement to get the claim dismissed, but the system arbitrator denied the request.
Kaepernick’s attorney’s have been pursuing extensive discovery over the past year. Article 17 of the collective bargaining agreement covers collusion, and section 7 provides that the NFL can request the arbitrator decide if there is sufficient evidence, “to raise a genuine issue of material fact” to suggest collusion happened.
When a motion for summary judgment is filed, the court assumes all the facts raised by the opposing side are true, and if that is the case, is there an issue of material fact.