Latest news with #DonDavis
NBC Sports
2 days ago
- Politics
- NBC Sports
Who are the candidates for NFLPA interim executive director? No one knows
The NFL Players Association needs an executive director. Before that, the NFLPA needs an interim executive director. At this point, no one knows who the more immediate hire will be. Or when it will happen. The internal document obtained by ESPN that became the centerpiece of a report regarding potential criminal investigation mentions five potential, but not actual, candidates. Three currently work for the NFLPA: senior director of player affairs Lester Archambeau, chief player officers Don Davis, and chief operating officer Teri Smith. The other two are former NFLPA presidents — Domonique Foxworth and Eric Winston. ESPN also reports that former executive director DeMaurice Smith could be a candidate to return and to get things under contract. Per the same report, however, Smith isn't interested. It's still not known who's interested in the job and, more importantly, the persons in whom the NFLPA is interested. Who's currently running things? Who's making decisions? Who's vetting candidates for the interim job? Who will be negotiating with them? The messier the situation becomes, the more expensive it could become to find someone competent to fix it. We still think they should contact former (as of Friday) Packers CEO Mark Murphy. He has run a multi-billion-dollar football operation for 17 years, he played in the NFL, he served as a player rep, and he was employed by the NFLPA after he retired from the NFL, both as an assistant executive director and as a vice president. He also helped negotiate the 2011 CBA on behalf of the NFL. He'd be the perfect candidate to restore order to the union — and to strike fear in the hearts of his recently former business partners.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Carolina congressional race already showing signs of competitiveness
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — In many ways, the 2026 election for North Carolina's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives won't be very different from the last election. The court-ordered 2022 maps sent seven Democrats and seven Republicans to Washington, D.C. But the 2024 maps, drawn by the GOP-led North Carolina General Assembly, made sure that Republicans would take control of some of those seats. It paid off. The 2024 election left some incumbent Democrats choosing to not run. Ten Republicans and four Democrats won the 2024 race. Out of 14 congressional districts, only one district was considered competitive. District 1 Democratic incumbent Rep. Don Davis won that election against Laurie Buckhout, the Republican candidate, by 6,307 votes. District 1 consists of 22 northeastern and central North Carolina counties. The geographic area is so large, it includes two television markets, and TV advertising is where the majority of campaign money is spent. It should be of little surprise the two most well-known 2026 candidates in that race, so far, are building a war chest some 16 months before the general election. Financial data reported to the Federal Election Commission by individual candidate committees shows Davis has $1.11 million on hand as of June 30. While that is a large sum this early in the race, the person Davis could face on the ballot has almost twice the amount of cash. Having announced that he will run for Davis' seat, Sandy Roberson, the current Republican mayor of Rocky Mount, has $2.22 million on hand. But there's still plenty of time for other contenders to enter the race, which would force Roberson's campaign to spend part of what is raised on a primary. Roberson previously ran for Congress in 2022, but lost the GOP primary to Sandy Smith, who then lost to Davis. With Congress so narrowly divided, North Carolina's 1st congressional district is considered a coveted seat by both parties. Other North Carolina incumbents cash on hand: NC 02 Rep. Deborah Ross (D) $936,752 NC 06 Rep. Addison McDowell (R) $264,566 NC 07 Rep. David Rouzer (D) 1,746,026 NC 09 Rep. Richard Hudson (R) $1,135,314 NC 10 Rep. Pat Harrigan (R) $217,521 NC 11 Rep. Chuck Edwards (R) $163,284 NC 14 Rep. Tim Moore (R) $1.29 million Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NFLPA's JC Tretter resigns after backlash against candidacy to replace executive director Lloyd Howell
J.C. Tretter was the other name scrutinized in the backlash that led to NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell resigning. He's headed out too now. The former Cleveland Browns center, who was working as the union's chief strategy officer after two terms as president during his playing days, told CBS Sports on Sunday he is taking himself out of the running for the interim executive director position and resigning from the union, citing the impact on his family. He did so after it was reported he was in a two-man race for interim executive director alongside NFLPA chief player officer Don Davis. From CBS Sports: "I'm not resigning because what I've been accused of is true. ... I'm not resigning in disgrace. I'm resigning because this has gone too far for me and my family, and I've sucked it up for six weeks. And I felt like I've been kind of left in the wind taking shots for the best of the organization," he said. "… I got to the point this morning where I woke up and I realized, like, I am going to keep dying on this f—ing sword forever of, I'll never, ever be able to do what's best for me. And I will always pick what's best for the organization. And in the end, what's the organization done for me? Like, nothing. Tretter played a central role in Howell's hire, which has been increasingly questioned after it was reported the players might have known about a sexual discrimination lawsuit against him at his previous employer and that he had a massive conflict of interest as a Carlyle Group consultant. It was also revealed last week that a grievance successfully brought by the NFL against Tretter was covered up. The news that Tretter might have replaced Howell when the vote went to the players was met with disbelief and criticism from some former players, many of whom worked in NFLPA leadership or as player representatives. A text message was also reportedly being distributed among players railing against him as "the common denominator in all these scandals." Promoting Tretter to executive director would have represented an endorsement of the NFLPA's leadership in recent years, and it has become very clear that would be a hard sell. The NFLPA has had a very bad month The controversy began last month when Pablo Torre and Mike Florio reported that the NFL and NFLPA buried a ruling on a collusion grievance that saw an arbitrator conclude that the league encouraged its teams to reduce guaranteed money in 2022 after Deshaun Watson's unprecedented, fully guaranteed contract. The NFL actually won the grievance because the arbitrator, Christopher Droney, concluded he could not establish a "clear preponderance" that NFL teams acted on that advice, but he still left a damning sentence on page 55 of a 61-page document: '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.' The NFL's reason for hiding that conclusion is obvious. It validates many critics' portrayals of a league willing to color outside the lines to suppress player compensation in any way it can get away with. What was less clear was why the NFLPA agreed with the NFL that the public, and more notably the players, didn't need to see that a neutral observer concluded its main adversary was acting in such a way. Questions abounded for Howell and the rest of the union's leadership, and it got worse as the weeks went on. After Howell finally resigned Thursday, it was reported Friday he had been discovered to have expensed more than $3,000 at strip clubs. The NFLPA has never been anywhere close to the most prestigious or effective player union in sports, but the latest developments were beyond the pale enough for many that Tretter couldn't escape the backlash either. JC Tretter compares himself to a 'Game of Thrones' character while defending decisions In a lengthy interview with CBS, Tretter defended himself on many of the above contentions, most notably the notion that he pushed Howell into the executive director role from the shadows. Howell was one of two finalists, alongside former SAG-AFTRA director David White. Tretter said that while Howell performed better in interviews, the NFLPA executive committee voted 10-1 in favor of White over Howell, with Tretter among the 10. However, the committee did not share its preference with the board of 32 player representatives, who voted for Howell. Tretter said her expects there will be changes to the approval process in the next go-around. From CBS Sports: "We did hundreds of hours of work, and we did multiple rounds of interviews. We had people flying into D.C. regularly to meet candidates in person. I don't think it's feasible to do that for everybody," he explained. "… The executive committee is in the day-to-day of it. The board has the approval rights. "It's a fair question. I think that's something that the board and the [executive committee] and the players need to wrestle with as they launch the next search is like, 'How is it set up?' I'm not saying we did everything right. I think we made decisions based off what we had done historically and wanted to do something different and thought what we were doing was the best option. We've learned more since then. There are probably going to be changes. There should be changes. They should do something that they feel confident in and they should learn from every experience they have." Tretter also said he regretted the quote that led to the covered-up NFL grievance, calling it a "dumb tongue-in-cheek remark" and denied having any access to the collusion grievance Howell agreed with the NFL to keep secret. Overall, Tretter had a comparison for his role in all this: Tyrion Lannister. Let's hear him out: Tretter has been thinking about one specific scene from "Game of Thrones" over the last few weeks. Tyrion Lannister is on trial for killing his nephew, King Joffrey, and though he didn't commit the murder, he says that he wished he had. "I wish I was the monster you think I am," Lannister says at his trial. "I felt a lot of that over the last six weeks," Tretter said Sunday. "I'm being accused of being this all-controlling, all-powerful person, and I'm not. And I f—ing wish I was because I don't think we'd be in the same place we are now if I was.
Yahoo
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
JC Tretter, Don Davis reportedly in '2-man race' for NFLPA interim executive director job
The race to be the next executive director of the NFL Players Association is down to two men, according to The Athetic's Dianna Russini. Either NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter or chief player officer Don Davis are expected to lead the union following a tumultuous week that saw Lloyd Howell abruptly resign. Representatives from all 32 NFL teams were on a call Friday night to discuss the union's leadership future. Tretter is reportedly seen as the leader ahead of Davis in terms of support from the players. It's unknown if there is a timetable for naming an interim executive director, but whoever gets the job is not expected to end up in the role full time. While Tretter seemingly has the support, Russini also reported on Saturday that a group of players are discussing potential legal action against the NFLPA and Tretter, "citing potential violations around inclusion, labor rights, and misuse of union dues." Howell, who led the NFLPA since 2023, resigned Thursday night after an outside investigator reportedly discovered Howell charged the union for multiple strip club visits, according to ESPN. Howell allegedly charged the union $738.82 on one receipt and another $2,426 during a separate strip club visit. ESPN's report marked the fourth time this offseason Howell's actions as NFLPA executive director came under scrutiny. Journalists Mike Florio and Pablo Torre previously unearthed two grievance rulings the NFL and NFLPA worked to keep secret. One of those rulings found evidence of collusion among teams, a potentially explosive revelation that Howell allegedly not only worked to keep out of the public, but also may have tried to keep from players.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
JC Tretter, Don Davis reportedly in 'two-man race' for NFLPA interim executive director job
The race to be the next executive director of the NFL Players Association is down to two men, according to The Athetic's Dianna Russini. Either NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter or chief player officer Don Davis are expected to lead the union following a tumultuous week that saw Lloyd Howell abruptly resign. Representatives from all 32 NFL teams were on a call Friday night to discuss the union's leadership future. Tretter is reportedly seen as the leader ahead of Davis in terms of support from the players. It's unknown if there is a timetable for naming an interim executive director, but whoever gets the job is not expected to end up in the role full time. While Tretter seemingly has the support, Russini also reported on Saturday that a group of players are discussing potential legal action against the NFLPA and Tretter, "citing potential violations around inclusion, labor rights, and misuse of union dues." Howell, who led the NFLPA since 2023, resigned Thursday night after an outside investigator reportedly discovered Howell charged the union for multiple strip club visits, according to ESPN. Howell allegedly charged the union $738.82 on one receipt and another $2,426 during a separate strip club visit. ESPN's report marked the fourth time this offseason Howell's actions as NFLPA executive director came under scrutiny. Journalists Mike Florio and Pablo Torre previously unearthed two grievance rulings the NFL and NFLPA worked to keep secret. One of those rulings found evidence of collusion among teams, a potentially explosive revelation that Howell allegedly not only worked to keep out of the public, but also may have tried to keep from players.
