Former MLB player Tony Clark has been the head of the MLB Players Association since 2013.
Today, per Evan Drellich, Ken Rosenthal and Andy McCullough at The Athletic, Clark is leaving the union:
In a stunning development in the wake of a federal investigation, Tony Clark is expected to resign from his position as executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, leaving the union scrambling to find a leader heading into a lengthy labor dispute this winter, people briefed on the decision
who were not authorized to speak publicly told The Athletic.
The federal investigation noted above is into money allegedly shuffled into a for-profit venture by the MLBPA:
Federal law officers are investigating a youth baseball company owned by the Major League Baseball Players Association that spent at least $3.9 million while holding few sparsely attended live events for kids, sources familiar with the inquiry told ESPN.
The complaint accused MLBPA executive director Tony Clark of self-dealing, misuse of resources and abuse of power at the union. It also alleged nepotism in his dealings with Players Way, which he helped launch with lofty aspirations to transform youth baseball across America. At the time of the complaint, the MLBPA denied all the allegations as “entirely without merit.”
At this time Clark has not been charged with any crime, and he made this statement last year, per the Athletic article:
“Any suggestion that Players Way has not been supported by our elected player representatives and broader membership is patently false,” Clark said in a statement last year. “Players Way has been front and center at every annual meeting of the MLBPA Executive Board in recent memory, and our dialogue with players regarding youth development continues throughout the calendar.
Nevertheless, the resignation apparently caught all 30 MLB player reps by surprise. Clark was to have made his usual annual tour of Spring Training camps beginning today at Guardians camp, but that was cancelled early this morning. For now, that leaves the MLBPA scrambling:
While Clark was the MLBPA’s executive director, the last set of negotiations with MLB owners was headed by labor lawyer Bruce Meyer, who is the deputy executive director. Meyer was expected to lead negotiations this time, too, and still might do so.
But this is not a good time for the MLBPA to change leadership, with CBA negotiations beginning this upcoming offseason as the current MLB/MLBPA agreement ends Dec. 1, with a lockout by owners widely expected to happen at that point, as noted in the Athletic article:
The resignation occurs at a time of heightened rhetoric as the owners are expected to lock out the players at the conclusion of this season when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. The owners executed the same tactic after the 2021 season, which shut down the sport for 99 days. The upcoming negotiation could last longer, as owners have become vocal about the necessity for a salary cap, as sports like the NFL, NBA and NHL use, in the wake of rampant spending by teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.
And so, as always, we await developments.
