Eric Reid's grievance against the Cincinnati Bengals has been denied by an arbitrator, a decision that has irked the NFL Players Association.
The union says that arbitrator Shyam Das found that the team asking Reid during a free-agent visit if he planned to kneel during the national anthem violated fair hiring practices. The union argues that standing for the anthem is not required in the labor agreement with the league.
The grievance claimed that Reid wasn't signed by any team because of his anthem protests.
Reid is now in a one-year contract with the Carolina Panthers, whom he signed with at the end of September. The interview with Bengals owner Mike Brown came in April.
The Bengals say Wednesday they have no comment on the matter.
The union adds, "We will review the decision more carefully with Eric and his lawyers to consider our next steps."
