Colin Kaepernick, who started the NFL kneeling protests in 2016, filed a grievance against NFL owners for colluding with President Trump to keep him out of a job.

The 29-year-old former San Francisco 49ers quarterback filed a grievance under the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

Even though he walked away from a $17 million option in his contract with the 49ers at the end of the 2016 season, Kaepernick claims the league owners are colluding against him because of his “leadership” and racial equality protests.

Kaepernick’s attorney, Mark Geragos, said his client opted out of his contract with the 49ers because he expected to land a bigger contract with another team.

In a statement released Sunday, Geragos said Kaepernick “should not be punished and athletes should not be denied employment based on partisan political provocation by [President Trump].”

He added that such interference by the Executive Branch of the U.S. government “threatens all patriotic Americans and harkens back to our darkest days as a nation.”

Geragos said he filed the grievance after reaching out to all 32 teams on behalf of Kaepernick, who finished the year with 16 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions in 12 games.

The 49ers went 2-14 with Kaepernick on or off the bench in 2016.

Ironically Kaepernick’s best chance to play for the NFL this season may come this week after the Green Bay Packers lost their star quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, who suffered a broken collarbone during Sunday’s game against the Vikings.

But when asked about his quarterback situation following the game, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said, “Brett Hundley’s my quarterback. Joe Callahan is the backup.”
 

Photos by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images, Adam Bettcher/Getty Images