A key in-house lawyer at the NFLPA retained outside counsel in response to the federal probe of the union and the MLBPA and their ties to the organizations’ group licensing and marketing joint venture, OneTeam Partners, sources said. The move comes as the lawyer accused NFLPA leadership of sidelining an internal investigation into the matter in a May 30 memo to top player leaders.
Awful Announcing obtained a copy of the memo.
Heather McPhee, whose name was on a litigation hold letter sent to NFLPA employees in December after the union’s internal investigation commenced, has retained Bill Pittard at Kaiser Law, the sources said. Pittard previously represented whistleblower Sarah Feinberg, whose claims of fraud against Booz Allen led to a $377 settlement. NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell was the chief financial officer of the government contractor during the period outlined in the charge and, according to Feinberg, was aware of and tolerated the alleged malfeasance.
In the May 30 memo to the union’s executive committee, which is composed of senior player leadership, McPhee wrote she had been contacted by federal investigators regarding the investigation into the activities of members of the union’s leadership. In the memo, McPhee writes she was ordered to stop working on anything connected to OTP with the threat of employment discipline.
The NFLPA internal probe, conducted by two outside law firms, McPhee wrote, was sparked by an Awful Announcing report of a National Labor Relations Board charge filed against MLBPA by a whistleblower group. The whistleblowers have a host of allegations, including that MLBPA leadership got equity options illicitly from OTP. Sources close to OTP have denied such equity options were ever issued.
Because the MLBPA and the NFLPA jointly own OTP, McPhee started an investigation based on the NLRB report. She wrote in the memo the probe had raised serious questions about self-dealing and the competencies of OTP leadership. She did not describe the self-dealing — or who allegedly committed it. But she described herself and outside counsel at Willig Williams & Davidson as alarmed.
She described the situation as serious, noting that senior staff leaders were the subject of a federal probe, and called herself devastated for having to relay the news. The probe includes the Department of Labor and the FBI, according to reports and sources.
McPhee did not respond to a request for comment, nor did her counsel. The NFLPA is likely trying to block McPhee from speaking with federal investigators, given that what she may say could be considered legally privileged. The information would likely have to be deemed evidence of an ongoing crime to break the legal privilege shield.
In her memo, McPhee urged the executive committee to meet. It’s unclear if that occurred. The NFLPA did not respond to several outreach attempts for comment. Four NFLPA staff members, including Howell, are board members at OTP, which was valued at $2 billion in 2022.
Meanwhile, the sources said Howell has retained Billy Martin at Barnes & Thornburg, which represented Booz Allen against the whistleblower charges. One source said Martin has long represented Howell. The union’s executive committee has retained WilmerHale.
It’s unclear precisely what the FBI is investigating, but the case is reportedly being handled out of the Eastern District of New York. The internal investigation at the NFLPA and the NLRB charge filed against the MLBPA by the whistleblower group each sought information on possible equity grants to OTP board members.
McPhee is associate general counsel of the NFLPA and has been with the union since 2009. Previously she was a lawyer at Patton Boggs, and Latham & Watkins.