The NFL Players Association is doubling down on its failed search for an executive director from 2023.
In a stunning move, the union has hired David White. He’s the candidate who finished second to Lloyd Howell in the two-man race that the executive committee teed up for the board of player representatives.
“On behalf of the NFLPA’s Board of Player Representatives, I am proud to share that David White has been elected to serve as our interim executive director,” NFLPA president Jalen Reeves-Maybin said in a statement released late Sunday. “This decision is the result of a comprehensive, player-led process. We understood the urgency to fill this role and did our due diligence to identify the right person to lead our union in this moment.
“We have full faith in David to take the union forward and operate in the best interests of our membership. David has spent much of his career fighting for collectively bargained rights in the labor movement and is committed to putting players first in all the union does. We are confident that he will inspire solidarity and provide the necessary stability during this period of transition.
“Soon, we will commence a thorough search process for a permanent executive director. This process will continue to be player led, as the strength of our union has and will always lie with our membership.”
Said White, in a statement issued by the NFLPA: “I am grateful to the NFLPA’s player leadership for entrusting me with the privilege and responsibility to guide their union as interim executive director. It’s a duty I do not take lightly, and I’m committed to reestablishing trust and ensuring the union is serving its members best. I look forward to working with the entire NFLPA team to protect players’ health and safety, secure their financial well-being, and further strengthen their voice to shape their futures.”
White previously served as the National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator of Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA). The release says that White “is the CEO of 3CG Ventures, a premier executive coaching and strategic consulting firm.” It’s unclear whether he’ll be relinquishing that role, or doing double duty.
After Howell abruptly resigned, former NFLPA president (and now-former NFLPA chief strategy officer) JC Tretter said that the executive committee took a straw poll that resulted in a 10-1 vote, with White in a landslide over Howell. For whatever reason, that information was not shared with the player representatives who eventually picked Howell over White.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, a voting representative from all 32 teams participated in the election of White on Sunday night. The short list of candidates, whose names have not been revealed, included multiple internal and external candidates. Interviews with the candidates were conducted over the past two weeks.
The decision to revert to the runner up from the process that resulted in the objectively abysmal decision to hire Howell raises an obvious question: Why?
A strong case could have been made for scrapping everything about the last time around, given the various problems and controversies that transpired during Howell’s two-year tenure. If nothing else, the screening process that teed up Howell and White had very real flaws, based on things about Howell that were not known. (Reportedly, for example, the player representatives did not know about an alleged strip-club expense-report misadventure while Howell was at Booz Allen. News of another such incident while at the NFLPA emerged promptly after Howell’s abrupt resignation.)
As one source put it on Saturday, the entire executive committee arguably should have resigned following the resignation of Howell and Tretter. A clean sweep of everyone whose fingerprints were on the hiring of Howell potentially was and is needed.
Those who believed in Howell and in the process that resulted in his hiring have accountability to the rank and file. A mulligan consisting of bringing in the other guys doesn’t seem to be the right answer. A fresh start does.
Ultimately, however, it’s for the players to make their decisions about who will lead them. Starting with an interim executive director and culminating in a more permanent hire. With a Collective Bargaining Agreement talks coming soon, and much riding on the outcome of the negotiations.
If the players want to keep one hand tied behind their back as they prepare to stare down some of the most rich and powerful people in the country, that’s the players’ business. However, the sport badly needs balance between labor and management.
Currently, things are badly out of whack. Whether the situation stabilizes remains to be seen.
Through it all, we remain committed to sunlight, not darkness. Truth, not obfuscation. There’s been way too much of both of the latter over the last two years for the union. Rewinding to 2023 and hiring the other guy from a process that crashed and burned feels at first blush like a colossal mistake.
