The Major League Baseball Players Association has named an interim executive director one day after Tony Clark’s forced resignation over an alleged affair with a woman identified as his sister-in-law and a union employee.
But while the players’ union hopes to focus on the newly promoted Bruce Meyer, an MLBPA lawyer since 2018, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is calling on Clark’s alleged mistress to be identified publicly.
‘Tony Clark, damn’ Smith said on Wednesday’s edition of First Take, as quoted by Awful Announcing. ‘This takes sibling rivalry to a new level. You’re a grown damn man! How do you let something like this happen? You’re 53 years old! Of all the people out there, your sister-in-law? Really? Damn. I mean, damn. Come on, y’all. There’s certain things you just don’t do.’
‘I’m not getting into all the personal stuff, I’m just saying, based on what’s reported, I can’t even think about the collective bargaining negotiations,’ he continued. ‘Really? The sister-in-law? Listen, ain’t nobody trying to absolve Tony Clark because that was just foolhardy, not wise, not smart … but I’m getting sick and tired of not seeing the other people involved. Who is that woman? Does she work in the MLB office? You understand what I’m saying? Because again, if it were the players, we’d see everybody.’
Clark’s sister-in-law was hired by the MLBPA in 2023, according to ESPN, which broke the story of the alleged affair. Her identity has not been revealed publicly.
A one-time All-Star as a first baseman over 15 Major League seasons, Clark has served as the union’s executive director since 2013.
Tony Clark and his wife Frances (right) have one son together and reportedly live in Arizona
Stephen A. Smith is calling on the woman in the Tony Clark scandal to be identified too
He and his wife, Frances, have one son together, according to multiple reports.
Meyer’s promotion is a move for continuity ahead of the likely start of what figures to be contentious collective bargaining with team owners. That process is set to begin in April.
Matt Nussbaum was promoted to interim deputy executive director from general counsel.
The decisions were made by the Major League Baseball Players Association executive board during an online meeting. Both votes were unanimous.
A 64-year-old veteran labor lawyer, Meyer joined the union staff in 2018 and led negotiations through a 99-day lockout that led to a five-year agreement in March 2022. The deal barely avoided what would have been the first loss of regular-season games since 1995. He was promoted to deputy executive director in July 2022.
Meyer spent 30 years at Weil, Gotshal & Manges before joining the NHL Players Association in 2016 as senior director of collective bargaining, policy and legal.
Three members of the union’s eight-man executive subcommittee, Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito and Ian Happ, were among the players who in March 2024 advocated for the ouster of Meyer in an effort led by former union lawyer Harry Marino. Clark backed Meyer, the effort failed and those three players were dropped off the subcommittee that December.
The subcommittee voted 8-0 against approving the 2022 labor contract and Meyer had advocated pushing management for a deal more favorable to the union. Team player representatives, the overall group supervising negotiations, voted 26-4 in favor, leaving the overall ballot at 26-12 for ratification.
The current subcommittee includes Chris Bassitt, Jake Cronenworth, Pete Fairbanks, Cedric Mullins, Marcus Semien, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Brent Suter.
A 64-year-old veteran labor lawyer, Bruce Meyer joined the union staff in 2018 and led negotiations through a 99-day lockout that led to a five-year agreement in March 2022
A former All-Star first baseman who headed the union since 2013, Clark resigned Tuesday just months ahead of the expected start of bargaining for a labor contract to replace the deal that expires December 1.
He was asked to resign by the union’s eight-man executive subcommittee after an investigation by the union’s outside counsel discovered evidence Clark had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, a union employee since 2023, a person familiar with the union’s deliberations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced.
‘The information that really led to this came out within the last … 72 hours or so,’ Meyer said earlier Wednesday. ‘So this is not something that has been kind of sat on. When the information came out, the players on the subcommittee made their feelings known. And Tony, to his credit, he’s always been about the players first and Tony decided to take the action he did in the interest of the players.’
Clark did not respond to a text message seeking comment.
The start of the annual tour of spring training camps by union officials was pushed back a day and began Wednesday with the Kansas City Royals.
‘Just on a personal level I think we’re all fairly devastated by things that have happened in the last 48, 72 hours,’ Meyer said. ‘I’m not going to go beyond that in terms of personal feelings, but it’s fair to say that we were all personally upset, concerned about Tony. But I think this was something that the players determined had to happen at this particular point in time.’
Meyer, hired by Clark in 2018, headed the 2021-22 negotiations that led to an agreement on March 10 that ended a 99-day lockout. Meyer was promoted to deputy executive director in July 2022.
‘I don’t anticipate that anybody’s going to be leading negotiations other than me,’ Meyer said.
Chicago’s Ian Happ is a key member of the MLBPA’s eight-player subcommittee
Clark’s departure took place during a probe by the US Attorney in Brooklyn, New York, into the union’s relationship with OneTeam Partners, a licensing company founded by the union, the NFL Players Association and RedBird Capital Partners in 2019.
‘There have been some issues hanging over, as you know, and in some respects it’s good to get them out of the way sooner rather than later,’ Meyer said.
‘OneTeam and its employees are not, and have never been, targets of the Eastern District of New York’s investigation and have been fully cooperative,’ the company said in a statement. ‘Any reporting that characterizes the EDNY investigation as targeting OneTeam is inaccurate.’
Meyer said the union’s entire executive board of 72 players was eligible to vote for executive director: the executive subcommittee, 30 major league team player representatives and 34 minor leaguers, who have been represented by the union since 2022.
MLB appears on track to propose a salary cap, which possibly could lead to a work stoppage that causes regular-season games to be canceled for the first time since 1995.
‘We don’t expect anything to change in terms of bargaining,’ Meyer said. ‘We’ve been preparing for bargaining for years. Players have been preparing. Players know what’s coming.
‘At the end of the day leadership is important and leadership comes and goes, but what remains is the players. At the end of the day, it’s the players who determine the direction of the union. At the end of the day, it’s the players who determine our priorities and bargaining. Those priorities obviously have not changed and will not change.’
A one-time All-Star as a first baseman over 15 Major League seasons, Clark has served as the union’s executive director since 2013. He is best known as a player for his years in Detroit
The union said it will resist a salary cap.
‘Our position and the historic position of this union for decades on a salary cap is well known,’ Meyer said. ‘It’s the ultimate restriction. It’s something that owners in all the sports have wanted more than anything and in baseball in particular there’s a reason for that, because it’s good for them and not good for players.’
Meyer spent 30 years at Weil, Gotshal & Manges before joining the NHL Players Association in 2016 as senior director of collective bargaining, policy and legal.
He wouldn’t directly address whether the union intends to restrict the hiring of family members.
‘I think it’s fair to say there are issues that will be addressed,’ Meyer said. ‘There are various issues that will be evaluated, re-evaluated with the advice of counsel and, as always, at the direction of players.’
Nussbaum, 47, succeeded Ian Penny as general counsel in July 2022. He was hired by the union in 2011 as staff counsel.