Latest news with #playersunion
CBC
4 days ago
- Sport
- CBC
NHL, players' union differ on eligibility of acquitted former junior players
The NHL released a statement on Thursday saying the behaviour of the former junior hockey players acquitted of sexual assault this week was unacceptable even if it was not found to be criminal. For the moment, they're ineligible to play in the league, but the players' union believes they should be able to resume work.
New York Times
19-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
NFL players deserve a leader, not a lightweight, who ferociously fights for their rights
The toughest person in professional football does not need to be the quarterback who takes a repeated pounding from the blind side, or the edge rusher paid to deliver those shots into the passer's ribs. The toughest person in the toughest sport needs to run the National Football League Players Association. Advertisement Why? It's pretty simple. NFL players must be protected like no other athlete or asset in the big business of sport. They play the most violent game at video-game speed, risking serious injury on every snap. And then as soon as the physical toll makes them a couple of steps slower, their teams barely thank them for the memories before showing them the door. No, there can be absolutely no weakness in the leadership of these brave souls. Once again, the pain is fully guaranteed in the NFL even though the contracts are not. That's why the NFLPA needs a fighter. A heavyweight. Someone who can go toe to toe with the commissioner, Roger Goodell, and the team owners who care first and foremost about the soaring valuations of their franchises, and who therefore can never be fully trusted to do the right thing by the only people who truly make the NFL great. The players. No fan has ever paid a nickel to see an owner or league official eat a catered lunch at room temperature behind the thick glass of a luxury suite. The players represent the single reason professional football is the modern-day national pastime and the entertainment spectacle that consistently produces the most-watched shows in America. They are not part of the NFL. They are the NFL. And they deserve so much more than what their union dealt them in the form of Lloyd Howell Jr., who apparently conducted more business in the VIP room of your local strip club than he did in boardrooms and locker rooms. Calling Howell a lightweight would be an insult to lightweights worldwide. ESPN reported that an external investigation produced documents showing that Howell charged the union for visits to two strip clubs, including a car service bill for $738.82. The report also stated Howell and a colleague at his former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, ran up an exorbitant strip club bill that the colleague submitted for reimbursement while Howell was a defendant in a sexual discrimination and retaliation case. Advertisement It's hard to believe a man with a master's degree from Harvard Business School could be a party to something so monumentally dumb. It's even harder to believe that the NFLPA could elect someone with such dreadful judgment for a position that requires rock-solid conviction. Lloyd Howell was really the best that JC Tretter and others at the union could do when confronting ruthless billionaires who are always looking to run an end-around on the players? On today's Athletic Football Show, @PabloTorre joined me to discuss his reporting on the NFL collusion case. The most shocking details from the 61-page rulingWhy would the NFLPA bury this? What comes next for Lloyd Howell and the union? Full show: — Robert Mays (@robertmays) July 15, 2025 So the fourth executive director of the NFLPA had no choice but to resign after two years on the job. Before the strip club story, Howell had to go following disclosures of a clear conflict of interest (that union officials decided wasn't a clear conflict of interest) and a confidentiality agreement between the union and league to hide an arbitration agreement that included this ruling from the arbitrator: 'There is little question that the NFL Management Council, with the blessing of the Commissioner, encouraged the 32 NFL Clubs to reduce guarantees in veterans' contracts at the March 2022 annual owners' meeting.' That should've been game, set and match on the collusion front. Even though the arbitrator, Christopher Droney, somehow ruled that there was no smoking gun in evidence, why in the world would the union keep that information from its members? And why did it take reporting from 'Pablo Torre Finds Out,' Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, and ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler for players to learn that their bosses were drawing up a game plan to keep their wages as non-guaranteed as possible, and that their own representatives essentially helped the owners bury that, well, smoking gun? And how many players were made aware that Howell had a paid role at a private equity firm that sought to purchase an ownership stake in NFL teams? It's a helluva sitcom, though there's nothing remotely funny about it. Over the years, there's been no shortage of NFL players who thought their union was way too cozy with management, a frightening truth given their short average career span and the punishment they endure between the lines. And speaking of Harvard, its medical school was part of a study published in September that showed one-third of the 2,000 former NFL players surveyed believe they have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, which is caused by repeated trauma to the brain. Advertisement This is what the sport does to the men who play it. 'I've had so many physical problems from football,' said Wesley Walker, the 70-year-old former Pro Bowl receiver for the New York Jets, 'and yet I know a lot of players who have it far worse than I do.' Whenever stories inspire concerns about NFL player vulnerability, Walker is a reliable go-to source. He was tough enough to play this dangerous game for 13 years while legally blind in one eye, and yet in retirement an endless cycle of surgeries and physical issues sometimes left him praying and crying for help in the middle of the night. Walker said he's seeing a neurologist for his concerns over possible Parkinson's symptoms, and that he's still dealing with the effects of spinal stenosis and nerve damage in his neck. He said he is losing function in his right hand, that he's experienced atrophy in his hands and legs, and that he wakes up with his knees inflamed and his feet numb. A former alternate union rep for the Jets, Walker was unaware Friday morning of Howell's Thursday night resignation until a reporter informed him. Walker said he has long been concerned that the relationship between the NFL and NFLPA was too collaborative, and almost solely focused on current players. He has been consistently critical over the years of both sides for not doing nearly enough for the battered former players who helped build the league into a juggernaut. 'It's a shame that we've never been provided for,' Walker said. 'Our sacrifices are not even a thought.' In the end, nobody in sports needs fully guaranteed salaries and more post-retirement care than NFL players. They must have a fearless advocate at the top of the union who has no agenda other than to serve and protect the members' interests. Maybe Dr. Don Davis, the NFLPA's chief player officer, is that guy. Or maybe senior union leaders need to seek outside counsel on how to find the right executive director from some of the nation's best available leaders who also happen to be passionate football fans. Barack Obama? Condoleezza Rice? Advertisement Either way, the NFL players could use a leader in the mold of Marvin Miller, who fought for steelworkers and baseball players with the same ferocity. Miller always loved it when a union guy on a New York City sanitation truck recognized him and gave him a shout-out for his work. The NFLPA has to find a man or woman who inspires that kind of feeling among its members. For putting their bodies on the line on every given Sunday, NFL players deserve nothing less.
New York Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Tony Clark says FBI investigation hasn't changed his job leading MLB players' union
ATLANTA — Asked if a federal investigation has jeopardized his work leading the baseball players' union, Tony Clark said Monday afternoon that his job is unchanged. 'My work is the same as it's always been,' Clark said during batting practice prior to the Home Run Derby at Truist Park. 'And our responsibility is to continue to protect and advance the rights of our players.' Advertisement In some of his first public comments on the matter, Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, gave little insight into the probe that has embroiled officials inside both the MLBPA and the NFL's union. The investigation, which is being conducted by the Eastern District of New York, is related to OneTeam Partners, a licensing company the two unions co-own with three other sports unions. Clark declined to say whether he personally is under investigation. Nor would he disclose what he understands the status of the probe to be or when he believes it could conclude. 'My response to those three (questions), and probably any other one you're going to ask associated with it, is going to be the same,' Clark said. 'We understand that there's an investigation. That investigation is ongoing. We have been and will continue to be fully cooperative as a result.' Clark and the players in the union have retained different outside lawyers in response to the investigation. So too have Lloyd Howell Jr., the head of the NFL Players Association, and his union. The Athletic previously reported on a move that raised alarm within one of the unions. In that instance, a proposal to modify an equity program at OneTeam Partners created controversy last year when an NFLPA official alleged that the plan had the potential to lead to union officials enriching themselves. Officials from multiple sports unions, including Howell and Clark, sit on OneTeam's board of directors. Both Clark and Howell signed a resolution last June supporting the plan. OneTeam Partners, which the NFLPA owns a 44 percent stake in and the MLBPA a 22 percent stake, said the plan was not ultimately enacted and that it was part of 'an exploratory review to determine whether the company could lawfully offer incentive-based compensation to current and prospective board members.' Advertisement OneTeam has also said that 'OneTeam is not the subject of the investigation and has not been accused of any wrongdoing in any way.' The company declined additional comment Monday. The NFLPA last winter retained an outside firm, Linklaters, to review the matter. Now, the FBI is involved. The full scope of the investigation is unclear. The Eastern District of New York has not publicly commented. It's been a long run of controversy for Clark. Just before Opening Day in 2024, some players and a former MLBPA lawyer challenged Clark and pushed him to fire his second-in-command, Bruce Meyer. Later, at the end of 2024, an anonymous complaint about Clark was filed to the National Labor Relations Board. It's a crucial time for the union with the sport's owners and players nearing another round of collective bargaining. The current agreement expires after the 2026 season, and negotiations are expected to get underway no later than next summer. 'Regardless of what is going on around us, my first focus, my second focus and my last focus is going to be to ensure that the players are educated on the things that they need to be educated on in preparation for whatever tomorrow's going to look like,' Clark said Monday when asked about the string of bad news. Commissioner Rob Manfred said in June that he was following news of the federal investigation into Clark. 'Honestly, I've read the articles. I think you would think I was somewhat negligent if I haven't,' Manfred said. 'Beyond reading the articles, there's not much for us to do. One thing: you know, I did spend a year in a federal district court when I was a kid. One thing you learn about FBI investigations: let them do their thing and stay out of their way, and that's where we are.' Manfred subsequently said players have been out of step with the MLBPA's leadership. Clark responded at the time in a statement saying Manfred was trying to divide players. (Photo of Tony Clark from 2022: Luis Magana / Associated Press)
Washington Post
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Top NFLPA committee expresses support for union leader Lloyd Howell
Player leaders of the NFL Players Association expressed their support Sunday for the union's executive director, Lloyd Howell, after a recent string of controversies put Howell under intense scrutiny. 'We have established a deliberate process to carefully assess the issues that have been raised and will not engage in a rush to judgement,' the players on the NFLPA's executive committee wrote in a message to fellow players, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post and other media outlets. 'We believe in and remain committed to working with our Executive Director and other members of NFLPA staff and player leadership who have a shared mission to advance the best interests of players.'
Reuters
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Fred VanVleet elected president of the National Basketball Players Association
July 13 - Houston Rockets guard Fred VanVleet has been elected president of the National Basketball Players Association, the union for current professional basketball players in the NBA, the NBPA announced today. The 31-year-old was elected by his fellow NBA players and will serve a four-year term starting immediately. "It's truly an honor to be elected as President of the NBPA by my peers and I look forward to continuing to advocate for the best interest of all the members," VanVleet said. "With a deep appreciation for the complexities and challenges players face on all levels of their NBA journeys, I am committed to approaching this role with the passion, dignity, and dedication every player deserves." The NBPA negotiates collective bargaining agreements, files grievances on behalf of players and educates players about benefits and post-NBA career opportunities, among other responsibilities, according to a statement from the NBPA today. VanVleet has dedicated himself to philanthropic and advocacy efforts off the court. He founded the VanVleet Family Foundation in 2016, an organization with a mission "to increase the access and exposure for the youth through educational opportunities, athletics, and career development." He succeeds CJ McCollum, who had served as NBPA president since 2021 and will now serve in an "advisory capacity." "It's been a privilege to serve on the NBPA Executive Committee for the past seven years and uniquely shape the business of our game," McCollum said. "I am encouraged by the future of the PA under Fred's leadership, as he has earned the basketball community's respect and has proven he is ready for this next step. "I look forward to supporting him as we continue building a stronger Association that serves past, present, and future generations of players." VanVleet has had an unlikely career path in the NBA. After four years at Wichita State, he signed with the Toronto Raptors as an undrafted free agent. He spent time in the G League in his rookie year before developing into an All-Star, NBA champion and eventually the highest-paid undrafted player of all time. He has averaged 14.9 points and 5.7 assists per game in his nine-year career with the Raptors (2016-23) and Rockets. --Field Level Media
