tony Clark resigns as MLBPA director after internal inquiry play

tony Clark resigns as MLBPA director after internal inquiry play Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Tony Clark resigned Tuesday after an internal investigation revealed an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who was hired by the union in 2023, sources told ESPN. The union announced Clark's resignation in a statement Tuesday evening. "The strength of this union is -- and will always be -- the solidarity of our membership," the union said. "We have a long history of fighting for the rights of every Player, and we're committed to making sure we can continue that fight successfully." During the union's internal inquiry -- which came in the wake of a wide-ranging and still-open federal investigation into the MLBPA's finances and other alleged improprieties, including nepotism -- the relationship between Clark and the woman came to light, sources said, and prompted him to step down after more than a dozen years as the union's leader. After ESPN reported on the investigation by the Eastern District of New York in late May, the MLBPA hired former assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman to serve as outside counsel and inform the union's powerful eight-man executive subcommittee of potential legal liabilities. In the course of the inquiry, the disclosure of the relationship was seen as crossing a red line by player leaders, who were already skeptical about Clark's future due to the federal investigation, sources told ESPN. The federal investigation was triggered by a whistleblower complaint filed against Clark with the National Labor Relations Board in November 2024 that alleged self-dealing, misuse of resources, abuse of power and nepotism. Among the issues raised in the anonymous complaint: the construction by the MLBPA of a large office in Arizona, where Clark lives and where his sister-in-law worked following its opening in 2023. Beyond the office, the EDNY's investigation concerns questions about the use of funds related to profits from OneTeam Partners, a multibillion-dollar group-licensing company part-owned by the union, and Players Way, a youth baseball initiative that spent millions of dollars but offered only a handful of events, sources familiar with the investigation said. Prosecutors are also investigating allegations of obstruction, according to sources briefed on the investigation who spoke with ESPN on the condition of anonymity. A former NFLPA lawyer alleged Clark and Lloyd Howell, the former NFLPA executive director who resigned in July, mounted "a pressure campaign to shut down a thorough review" of a proposed bonus plan that would have paid millions to OneTeam executive board members. Tony Clark had served as MLBPA executive director since being elected to the job in 2013. AP Photo/Richard Drew, File The allegation was made by Heather McPhee, a top veteran NFLPA lawyer who filed a federal lawsuit against the NFLPA and later was fired. McPhee is expected to testify before a federal grand jury in Brooklyn. The EDNY was aware of the inappropriate relationship before ESPN first reported it Tuesday, sources said.