Colin Kaepernick expected to be invited to next meeting between NFL players, owners

ByABC News
October 25, 2017, 4:38 PM

— -- Former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick is expected to be invited to the next meeting between NFL players and owners, a league spokesman said Wednesday.

That meeting is scheduled for Tuesday in New York.

NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart said he expects Kaepernick will be invited, although there is no confirmation whether he would attend the meeting. The invitation will be extended by the players, not the league, Lockhart said on the league's weekly conference call.

"We look forward to him joining the conversation," Lockhart said.

Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins?invited Kaepernick to a special meeting between NFL owners and players Oct. 17 in New York. That meeting included 13 current or former players, plus 11 owners and representatives from the league and the NFL Players Association.

Kaepernick, who filed a grievance against the NFL owners on Oct. 15, alleging they colluded to keep him out of the league, did not attend that meeting. He is not working through the NFLPA, but has hired high-profile lawyer Mark Geragos to represent him.

Kaepernick attracted national attention in 2016 when he kneeled during the national anthem before games, saying he did so to protest social injustice. His action led to a movement that spread throughout the NFL, but has been vilified by high-profile critics, including President Donald Trump.

The quarterback has not played for an NFL team since he exercised a clause in his contract and left the 49ers in March. At that time, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Kaepernick said he would stand during the anthem if he played in 2017.