The eight-player executive subcommittee of the Major League Baseball Players Association asked executive director Tony Clark to resign after an internal inquiry revealed Clark had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with an employee, according to people briefed on the decision who were not authorized to speak publicly.<\/p>\n
The union spent Tuesday scrambling to determine new leadership while heading into what is expected to be a lengthy labor dispute this winter. The expected resignation of Clark came at a time he was also facing a federal investigation<\/a> by the Eastern District of New York for his handling of union finances.<\/p>\n In response to the federal investigation, according to sources, the union brought in outside counsel from the firm of Morrison Foerster. The firm\u2019s review unearthed messages between Clark and the union employee, his sister-in-law, who has worked with the MLBPA since 2023. The firm approached Clark with the information on Friday and presented the findings to the players this past weekend. The players then pushed for Clark\u2019s ouster.<\/p>\n Clark, his attorney and the MLBPA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n The void atop the union could be filled by deputy executive director Bruce Meyer, who led the bargaining for the players during the 2021-2022 lockout. But the union stopped short of naming Meyer as the interim head after a conference call convened on Tuesday evening by the executive subcommittee and player representatives from the 30 clubs. The players were expected to hold a second call on Wednesday and could vote on new leadership. <\/p>\n \u201cI feel we have made mistakes in the past by making rushed decisions,\u201d said Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Bassitt, a member of the subcommittee. \u201cThe executive subcommittee and all the reps agreed we want to get this right. We don\u2019t want to get it done just because there\u2019s a void.\u201d<\/p>\n The union\u2019s player leadership did not vote today on whether Bruce Meyer will replace Tony Clark as head of the union. Chris Bassitt: \u201cI feel we have made mistakes in the past by making rushed decisions. The executive subcommittee and all the reps agreed we want to get this right.\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Clark and the MLBPA were supposed to start their annual tour of spring training camps in Arizona on Tuesday. The first stop, a meeting with the Cleveland Guardians, was canceled, which the team found out from the union at 6 a.m. local time.<\/p>\n Meyer spent time calling agents on Tuesday to firm up his support among players, according to people familiar with the situation.<\/p>\n The Athletic broke the news of Clark\u2019s departure on Tuesday morning just as players were arriving for workouts in Arizona and Florida. New York Mets infielder and executive subcommittee member Marcus Semien told reporters that Clark\u2019s decision stemmed from the federal probe.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has been an investigation going on,\u201d Semien said. \u201cWe still need to discuss with players why. You definitely don\u2019t want things to be a distraction going into December.\u201d<\/p>\n Subcommittee members like Los Angeles Angels pitcher Brent Suter and San Diego Padres infielder Jake Cronenworth took pains to downplay the upheaval at the union. Cronenworth described the state of the group as \u201cstrong.\u201d Suter hit a similar note.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me tell you, the ship is strong,\u201d Suter said. \u201cWe just need to make the right decisions today and moving forward, and we\u2019ll be just fine.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet 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, shutting down the sport for 99 days. The upcoming negotiation could last longer, as owners have become vocal about the necessity for a salary cap, used by leagues like the NFL, NBA and NHL, in the wake of rampant spending by teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.<\/p>\n Clark oversaw the negotiations for this current CBA alongside Meyer. Both are strongly opposed to a cap, which the union believes would not help competitive balance in the sport. Earlier this month, Meyer certified the rebuttal in Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal\u2019s landmark arbitration case in which Skubal was awarded a $32 million salary for 2026. Skubal vouched for Meyer on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think it has any impact on negotiating,\u201d said Skubal, another member of the subcommittee. \u201cBruce has been our lead negotiator. He\u2019s done it in the past. Although Tony has been the face of the PA in terms of negotiating, I\u2019m still as confident as ever in Bruce and everyone else that we\u2019ve got behind him.\u201d<\/p>\n Clark joined the union in 2010 at the conclusion of a 15-year playing career. He worked in player relations before becoming the deputy executive director. After the death of MLBPA chief Michael Weiner in December of 2013, Clark took over the head position. In 2018, Clark brought in Meyer, who had advised former MLBPA chief Don Fehr with the NHL Players\u2019 Association, to aid CBA negotiations.<\/p>\n Discord between the owners and the players emerged before the 2017-21 agreement expired when the sport shut down to protect against the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Those contentious talks foreshadowed the extended lockout in the winter before the 2022 season. The two sides struck an agreement on March 10 and managed to avoid cutting games from the schedule. But the specter of a work stoppage has loomed over the sport ever since.<\/p>\n Clark and Meyer faced criticism from within the union even before the federal probe. The tension culminated in a push for new leadership<\/a> by some players, agents and a former MLBPA attorney.<\/p>\n