Latest news with #HeatherMcPhee
Reuters
21 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Report: NFLPA places attorney on leave after claims of abuse
August 15 - The NFL Players Association's legal issues don't appear to be going away anytime soon. Less than a month after Lloyd Howell Jr. stepped down as executive director, the NFLPA on Tuesday placed one of its top attorneys on paid administrative leave, ESPN reported on Thursday. According to the report, Heather McPhee, associate general counsel for the NFLPA, was put on leave after multiple union employees filed complaints with the human resources department. The complaints, according to five sources who spoke with ESPN, included allegations of failing to follow supervisors' directions, bullying coworkers and disrupting the work environment within the union. ESPN reported that the union retained an outside firm "months ago" to investigate the claims against McPhee, and that those allegations were officially outlined in a letter signed by interim executive director David White on Tuesday. McPhee, who has held her role since 2009, reportedly wrote several memos warning the NFLPA of potential legal troubles with OneTeam Partners, a $2 billion licensing company owned in part by the NFLPA and the Major League Baseball Players Association. Among McPhee's reported claims were that OneTeam board members allocated equity shares to themselves as part of a bonus plan. Unrelated allegations of wrongdoing reportedly were made by an MLBPA whistleblower against that union's head, Tony Clark. Howell was also accused of a conflict of interest as he served as a consultant for The Carlyle Group, one of a small handful of private equity firms that the NFL has approved to pursue minority ownership in franchises, as well as potential collusion with the league to stem the increasing value of quarterback contracts. ESPN's reporting last month also included a former lead outside counsel for the NFLPA, Jim Quinn, calling it "an outrageous conflict for the head of a labor union to have an interest in a third party that is aligned with the NFL." Howell ultimately resigned after ESPN reported that receipts from a November 2023 trip taken by Howell showed car service and other costs billed to the NFLPA from Tootsie's Cabaret, which promotes itself as the world's largest strip club. --Field Level Media
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NFLPA lawyer placed on leave after her allegations led to FBI probe, per report
The latest twist in the drama that has consumed the NFL Players Association features a lawyer who reportedly squared off with former executive director Lloyd Howell and is now facing some charges herself. Heather McPhee, associate general counsel for the NFLPA since 2009, was placed on paid administrative leave Tuesday after multiple employees filed complaints against her with the union's human resources department, according to ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Jeff Passan. McPhee reportedly faces accusations of failing to follow supervisors' directions, bullying colleagues and disrupting the union's work environment. The decision to place her on leave reportedly comes months after her own allegations helped trigger an FBI investigation into the NFLPA, the MLBPA and their OneTeam Partners licensing company. Matt Curtin, the head of the NFLPA's licensing arm and a member of the OneTeam board, is among those who filed complaints against McPhee. There were several other problems facing the NFLPA by the time Howell resigned last month, but the only one that prompted action by federal authorities was the OneTeam matter. In June 2024, the eight-member board of directors, which included Howell, signed a resolution that could have personally entitled them to considerable compensation from the OneTeam partnership. McPhee reportedly wrote multiple memos suggesting the NFLPA could face legal jeopardy if it went through with the bonus plan and urged the union to investigate claims that the board members had allocated equity shares to themselves. The plan ultimately did not go through. Per The Athletic, OneTeam brought in $101 million for the NFLPA alone from early 2024 into 2025. The NFLPA reportedly owns 44% of the licensing firm, with the MLBPA owning 22% and three other union representing the MLS, USWNT and WNBA owning much smaller shares. Outside investors make the remainder of the ownership. ESPN notes that McPhee has not been deemed a whistleblower in the FBI case, leaving her with fewer legal protections against any retaliation. The NFLPA has been operating under new leadership since Howell announced his resignation, with former SAG-AFTRA executive director David White acting as interim head.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Report: NFLPA puts in-house counsel Heather McPhee on paid leave
The NFL Players Association continues to generate headlines for less-than-ideal reasons. Via Don Van Natta Jr. and Jeff Passan of the NFLPA placed in-house counsel Heather McPhee on paid administrative leave on Tuesday, after (per the ESPN report) multiple employees filed complaints with the union's H.R. department about her. She allegedly failed to follow her supervisor's direction and allegedly bullied colleagues and disrupted the union's work environment, per the ESPN report. The NFLPA will need to have plenty of evidence and documentation to show this move isn't a pretext for retaliation. She was reportedly instrumental in the investigation arising from financial dealings by NFLPA officials with OneTeam Partners, and some believe she was otherwise sounding internal alarms about other irregularities. She reportedly retained a lawyer for a possible whistleblower claim against the union. Coincidentally, the lawyer she hired is the same lawyer who handled a whistleblower case against now-former executive director Lloyd Howell's previous employer, Booz Allen Hamilton. That case resulted in a $377 million settlement. On May 30, McPhee reportedly sent a memo to the NFLPA executive committee regarding the fact that she had been contacted by federal investigators exploring OneTeam Partners and the NFLPA. She reportedly wrote in the memo that she was ordered to stop working on anything related to the OneTeam Partners probe, 'with the threat of employment discipline.' She also urged the executive committee to meet on the matter. One of the complaints against her was filed by Matt Curtin, the head of NFL Players, Inc. and a member of the OneTeam board of directors. Hired by Howell, Curtin was a candidate for interim executive director, before the sudden resignation of NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter. If/when she sues, the case will likely expose plenty of things that previously weren't known publicly. Which won't be good for the NFLPA. Still, someone apparently decided it's better to deal with the amorphous threat of future litigation over any potential disruption resulting from McPhee's ongoing presence in the workplace. Whether the disruption is good or bad depends on perspective. The NFLPA will likely paint her as a disgruntled employee who was trying to set the union up for a severance agreement, a settlement, or a verdict. She'll likely explain that, at a time of maximum chaos and misadventure by the union, she was trying to put the interests of the organization over the interests of specific individuals who, in her belief, were engaged in potentially inappropriate conduct. You know, like using union dues to finance multiple trips to a strip club. For more on the recent issues with the union, check out my initial visit to Pablo Torre Finds Out. And my second. And my third. And, as of this morning, my fourth. As someone texted tonight, "Cue episode five."
