In a 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 the free-agent quarterback 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 that Kaepernick’s lawyers had unearthed enough evidence 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 trial-like format.