Latest news with #JCTretter
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- 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
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former NFLPA executive committee member says JC Tretter "seems just as culpable" as Lloyd Howell
There's a storm raging within the NFL Players Association, and at times it feels as if we're in the eye of it. The vast majority of texts and calls to the PFT hotline since the resignation of NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell relate to the next steps for the union. There's plenty of noise, some of which has been posted here — and plenty of which (at least for now) has not been. Our goal isn't to tee up names or play the Game of Thrones game. It's to make sure the players understand what's happening and, ideally, that they reclaim control of their union. Because it seems that both the NFL and NFLPA non-player leadership have weaponized player apathy, any sign that the players are waking up and taking charge is significant. Here's something that has happened within the past day. Sam Acho — a former member of the NFLPA executive committee — has sounded the alarm via Twitter. "Players who are voting," Acho said, "I understand you've been kept out of the loop. Listen to [the Pablo Torre Finds Out] podcast or read the article by [Kalyn Kahler of JC Tretter seems just as culpable (if not more) than Lloyd Howell." The Acho tweet tags five current members of the board of player representatives: Zaven Collins, Von Miller, Shelby Harris, Cole Kmet, and Zaire Franklin. Acho's plea comes at a time when a text message critical of Tretter has been making the rounds. A longer document entitled "Risk Assessment of NFLPA Interim Executive Director Candidates" (which focuses only on Tretter) has been circulating, along with rumors that Tretter could be pushing for current NFL Players Inc. president Matt Curtin to become the interim executive director, since Curtin would be likely to keep Tretter in position as chief strategy officer. Meanwhile, the NFLPA has remained largely silent. There's been nothing from NFLPA president Jaylen Reeves-Maybin. Nothing from Tretter. The executive committee's only statement came a week ago, when it vowed to not rush to judgment on Howell. It's therefore very noteworthy that a former member of the executive committee has decided to publicly share his opinions in a public forum, with five members of the board of players representatives specifically mentioned.
Yahoo
a day ago
- 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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lloyd Howell's resignation is first logical step NFLPA has taken in a while
The day that needed to come has arrived at the NFLPA. After an avalanche of news leaks and stories over the past few weeks, NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell resigned from his post, marking the first logical step that the union has made since Pablo Torre unearthed a 61-page arbitration document that launched outside scrutiny at the NFLPA. Since then, the union has been embroiled in controversy with additional reporting from ESPN detailing an overly secretive union that clearly does not have the best interests of its constituents in mind. Howell's resignation was always going to come, but finally the union is able to move into a more constructive era where they have a chance to positively represent their players. In the wake of the initial report on Pablo Torre Finds Out, Howell has been exposed as someone who works for a firm investing in NFL teams; agreed to cover up collusion evidence in tandem with the owners; used union funds to pay for a trip to a strip club in Miami; and had a lawsuit against him for sexual harassment unearthed. There was simply no way that he could have remained the head of the union. Practically, morally — it just was not feasible. This is the ethos of someone who actively works against unions, not supporting them. Howell never had any business getting this job in the first place, but former president J.C. Tretter, who acted more as an agent of the owners than the players with regard to the collusion lawsuit, played a role in getting him hired. The main, and perhaps only at this time, positive of Howell resigning is that this didn't linger on and become an even bigger distraction for the union than it already is. Howell even noted in his public resignation statement that his "leadership has become a distraction to the important work the NFLPA advances every day.' Yeah. That's one way to put it. The other way to put it is that his leadership was actively destroying the one piece of solidarity that keeps the league in a healthy space without owners running their workforce into the ground. However, that didn't seem to bother Howell too much while he was embezzling funds to take trips to Tootsie's on the union dime for what must have been an exquisite meal and entertainment. A distraction is something that temporarily causes an entity to lose focus on their main task. How can someone be distracted from something they never intended on doing the right way? It was frankly offensive to usher Howell in at any point — the man fought against unions prior to taking over as the executive director of the union! How can you hire a union buster to lead a union? You can't sleep in a den of lions and be surprised when they take a bite out of you. They're lions. That's what they do. And that's what people like Howell do, and why he had to go. No serious union would have even entertained Howell's candidacy, let alone using a borderline secret and rushed vote to get him in the door. If the NFLPA is willing to be less sensitive to what people say about the union, this can be a great chance for inflection and change. A new collective bargaining agreement is five years away, giving them time to go through the proper election process for a new executive director. Perhaps one that isn't involved with increasing the financial value of NFL teams that they're investing in. A union director that isn't receiving kickbacks off investments in NFL teams would be a great starting point as the NFLPA attempts to move on from this disaster. A few years before the negotiations on the CBA heat up is the perfect time to make a change in the culture of the union. Get back to doggedly fighting for the players instead of chumming it up with owners to gain more personal notoriety among the ruling class. The union has to be about the players. This is their chance to get back to that.
New York Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
NFL won grievance against NFLPA over fake injuries in February, denies it concealed ruling
An arbitrator in February ruled in favor of the NFL after it filed a grievance in 2023 accusing the NFL Players Association of advising players to fake injuries as a contract-negotiation tactic, according to a document with the rulings obtained by The Athletic. It's the second arbitration ruling to come to light in the past month, following the exposure of a collusion decision kept hidden from players in a confidentiality agreement. Advertisement The original fake injury grievance stemmed from a comment former union president and current NFLPA chief strategy officer JC Tretter made in which he suggested players could fake injuries to sit out of practice while seeking a new contract. 'I don't think anybody would say they fake injuries, but we've seen players who didn't want to be where they currently are, have injuries that made them unable to practice and play, but you're not able to get fined, and you're not able to be punished for not reporting,' Tretter said in a July 2023 appearance on 'The Ross Tucker Football Podcast.' '… I don't think I'm allowed to ever recommend that, at least publicly, but I think each player needs to find a way to build up leverage to try to get a fair deal.' The NFL filed a grievance less than two months later, and the decision was reached on Feb. 20. In it, non-injury grievance arbitrator Sidney Moreland determined Tretter's comments violated the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which states, 'The NFL and NFLPA will use their best efforts to see that the terms and conditions of all NFL Player Contracts are carried out in full by the players.' The ruling also points to Article 3, Section 1, of the CBA, which says 'neither the NFLPA nor any of its members will engage in any strike, work stoppage or other concerted action interfering with the operation of the NFL or any Club.' In a statement shared Thursday, the NFL said: 'The Arbitrator upheld the Management Council's grievance in its entirety and found that Mr. Tretter's statements violated the CBA by improperly encouraging players to fake injury. As a result, he prohibited Mr. Tretter and the union from such conduct in the future. The NFL did not allege that any individual player ever feigned injury. We are grateful for the arbitrator's thorough review of the evidence and order enforcing the CBA.' Advertisement The NFLPA had no comment on the ruling. This grievance decision had not been publicly acknowledged before Thursday, when Pablo Torre of 'Pablo Torre Finds Out' and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported the news. However, the NFL confirmed to The Athletic it presented the results of the grievance to ownership and club personnel at March league meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. 'Coaches and GMs were briefed on the decision and its impact during a session the first day of the meetings. Ownership was told in a separate meeting,' the league stated. A source familiar with the situation confirmed Moreland had been fired from his arbitrator role this week, news first reported by Sportico. That role is jointly appointed by the NFL and NFLPA, and Article 43 of the CBA states the NFL or NFLPA can dismiss any arbitrator each year within the 10-day window of July 10-20. Earlier this month, ESPN reported — and a union source confirmed — the NFLPA had a confidentiality agreement with the NFL that hid information in an arbitration decision that found league executives pushed team ownership to reduce guaranteed player compensation. In January, an arbitrator ruled there was not enough evidence of collusion around salaries, but thanks to the confidentiality agreement, the full 61-page report from the arbitrator ruling was not made available until it was published on a June 24 episode of the 'Pablo Torres Finds Out' podcast. The collusion ruling was reached one month before the fake injury grievance decision.
