NFLPA leadership failed players with secrecy of collusion suit
At long last, the NFL Players Association is appealing the decision in its collusion case against the NFL, ESPN reported Wednesday... six months after arbitrator Christopher Droney ruled in favor of the league despite the union showing “by a clear preponderance of evidence” that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and general counsel Jeff Pash urged owners to restrict player guarantees.
The decision to appeal was no doubt sparked by the details of Droney’s decision being revealed in recent reporting by Pablo Torre Finds Out. Up until two weeks ago, not even the players knew there was evidence of potential collusion by the NFL, a finding the NFLPA should have been shouting from the rooftops. Instead, the union agreed to a confidentiality agreement to keep that info under wraps, with some players telling ESPN they were surprised by the details and didn’t understand why it wasn’t shared with them.
To put it plainly, they were failed by their leadership.
Withholding that kind of information from a body of players whose best interests were supposed to be of the utmost concern was, at best, an extreme dereliction of duty by NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. At worst, Howell conspired with the NFL himself, for reasons unknown but maybe soon to be revealed.
The NFLPA was already taking steps to get to the bottom of Howell’s activities as executive director, ESPN reported Wednesday, hiring an attorney to work with a special committee of players to review the union’s financial dealings related to a multi-billion dollar group-licensing firm called OneTeam Partners, which Howell is on the board of. On Thursday, further reporting from ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler revealed Howell is working as a paid part-time consultant for The Carlyle Group, which is a private equity firm with NFL approval to seek minority ownership in NFL teams.
Come on, dog. That's a clear conflict of interest.
But even just focusing on the collusion case, Howell should be in hot water with the union. In the glossiest view of why he withheld the findings of the players' suit against the NFL, it's hard to understand what a potential long-play would have been. It feels like everyone in the know just expected it to go away, and for the 61-page ruling to never see the light of day.
But now that everything is in the open, the NFL is conveniently seeking more than $12 million in legal fees from the NFLPA and this just all looks extremely shady. If the players value transparency, what happened here ain’t that, which alone should be grounds to find a new executive director, regardless of what happens with the appeal.
Devin Booker got PAID
Guaranteed money isn't a problem in the NBA, where Devin Booker became the latest player to land a massive extension. As reported by ESPN's Shams Charania last night, Booker agreed to a two-year, $145 million extension with the Phoenix Suns, keeping him with the team through the 2029-30 season.
At an average annual value of $72.5 million, the deal ranks as the richest annual extension salary in NBA history, surpassing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who averages $71.2 million on the extension he signed last week.
Anybody else regret not working on their jump shot a little more as a kid?
Messi is unstoppable
At 38 years old, Lionel Messi still remains an unstoppable force in Major League Soccer.
Proof: With two goals against the New England Revolution last night, Messi became the first player in MLS history to notch a brace in four straight league matches.
Don't look now, but here comes Inter Miami. With four straight wins, they're in fifth place in the East and seven points off the lead.
Quick Hits: Giannis speaks ... pasta and strawberries?! ... and more
- NFL training camps get underway soon, but several teams can still make moves to shore up a few positions. Here's Cory Woodroof with 10 realistic trades we could see before camps start.
- Were the Bucks' moves this offseason enough to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee? For now, it seems so, as the superstar said on a stream with iShowSpeed he'll probably be staying.
- Hey, that Lakers sale to Mark Walter... it's a little weird that he would allow Jeanie Buss to retain control of the team, right? Well, here's Bryan Kalbrosky with more details on that situation and how it may play out.
- Pasta and strawberries doesn't sound like the most appetizing meal to me, but Iga Światek just put the world on notice about the Polish staple, and my buddy Robert Zeglinski is here to defend her. Guess I'll have to try it one day.
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