If you’re a fan of the NFL, you’ve probably heard bits and pieces of the recent reporting about alleged collusion between NFL owners and misconduct within the NFL Players’ Association – the union that was created to support and protect players’ interests.
In case you haven’t, allow me to break it down.
In March 2022, Deshaun Watson signed a fully guaranteed five-year contract worth $230 million with the Cleveland Browns. This contract was unprecedented and, in the eyes of NFL ownership, catastrophic. On June 24, Pablo Torre published the arbitration document detailing a grievance filed by the NFLPA alleging that owners had colluded to prevent quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray and Russell Wilson from also obtaining guaranteed money in their contracts.
The document details the evidence compiled by the arbiters including text messages between owners congratulating one another on securing contracts without guaranteed money, as well as proof that the NFL’s management council encouraged owners to reduce guaranteed money.
In the March 2022 meeting of the NFLMC, a presenter was recorded saying, in part, “If guarantees continue to grow…there’s a risk they become the norm in contracts regardless of player quality…(and) set a market standard that will be difficult to walk back. Of course, all Clubs must make their own decisions. But continuing these trends can handcuff a club to the future.”
The arbiter ultimately ruled there was no collusion. The NFLPA, under new leadership of executive director Lloyd Howell, agreed to complete confidentiality about this arbitration proceeding and the ruling with the NFL. They did not share it with player representatives nor the public, until now.
ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler followed up with evidence indicating further misconduct and conflict of interest surrounding Howell. On July 10 they reported that Howell maintained a part-time, paid consulting role with the Carlyle Group – a private equity firm that has recently sought to invest in NFL franchises. Howell officially resigned from his post on July 17 amid the damning reports. The following day, Van Natta and Kahler reported that they had obtained evidence that Howell charged the union over $2000 for visits to strip clubs during his tenure.
For more details, I highly recommend reading the reporting of the incredible journalists who managed to shine light on this. This saga is still unfolding.
As this news broke during the first two months of my tenure as a sports reporter, I’ve considered the importance of transparency and accountability in sports and the role I play in that as a reporter.
My job is to cover sports in Elmore County. To do that, I have to attend games and practices, talk to coaches, players, principals, parents, and everyone in between — I need access. And yet, the access that I am given is not my implicit agreement to only write the good news. There is an ethical responsibility that comes with journalism, to ask the uncomfortable questions and report the bad as well as the good. I dearly wish that I could stick to the sunshine and rainbows, but that would be a disservice to this community.
Sports are key to this community, that was clear to me in my first week. To protect that, accountability and transparency are necessary, as much as diligent journalism.
Ana Sofia Meyer is a sports reporter for Tallapoosa Publishers Inc.
