Nearly six months after losing Gene Upshaw to pancreatic cancer, the National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA) has a new executive director. DeMaurice Smith, a Washington, DC attorney, was elected to succeed Upshaw Sunday night.
Smith was elected by a vote behind closed doors at the posh Fairmont Kea Lani resort where the union has been meeting. The players reps heard from the four candidates Saturday and once again Sunday, with the candidates providing their closing arguments before the voting began by secret ballot.
The National Football League Players' Association has been without a leader since the death of Gene Upshaw in August. But the union is now just hours away from choosing its next executive director.
Do you remember that Simpsons episode where all of the teachers went on strike, and to get the students back into class they brought in people from the neighborhood to run the school? One of those people, Jasper, the old guy with the jagged voice and ZZ top beard, was in charge of the second-grade class. He began by standing at the front of the room with a paddle, and running down a list of all the acts that would result in a paddling: "Looking out the window ... that's a paddling. Talking out of turn ... that's a paddling. Staring at my sandles ... that's a paddling. Paddling the school canoe ... oh, you better believe that's a paddling."
I mention this because it's not all that different from how Roger Goodell handles fines around the National Football League. The only difference, of course, is instead of paddling Ronnie Brown for dancing, he simply hands out a fine. Doing a cartwheel? That's a fine. Doing the cupid shuffle? That's a fine. Playing bongo drums after scoring a touchdown ... oh, you better believe that's a fine.
So, which fine handed down by the commissioner has been the worst?
Players will wear a patch with the number 63 ... which was Upshaw's uniform number during his Hall Of Fame career as a guard for the Oakland Raiders. The black patch will also have the initials "GU".
The Oakland Raiders will have the patch's image painted on the field for their Monday night game against the Denver Broncos. There will be a video tribute as well. Giants Stadium will also have the image on the field for the Giants game against the Washington Redskins this Thursday.
"Gene was a truly unique, one-of-a-kind contributor to the NFL," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. "No one in our game has ever combined Gene's level of achievement both as a Hall of Fame player and as an executive leader. No one did more for NFL players than Gene Upshaw. He deserves our everlasting respect and thanks."
There will be a public memorial today in Washington, D.C. for Upshaw so players can attend and give their respects.
Multiple news outlets are reporting that Gene Upshaw, the Oakland Raiders Hall of Famer who has ruled the NFL players' union for the last quarter century, has died at the age of 63.
At 8:30 a.m. Eastern, the NFL confirmed Upshaw's death.
Upshaw played for the Oakland Raiders from 1967 to 1981. He was active in the players' union and became its executive director shortly after his retirement.
Gene Upshaw, Aug. 21: The Executive Director of the NFL Players Association and Hall of Fame football player passed away at age 63.
Jim McIsaac, Getty Images
Ronney Vargas, Aug. 16: The promising undefeated boxer and three-time Daily News Golden Gloves champion was shot to death after getting into a fight at a Bronx bodega.
New York Daily News
Orville Moody, Aug. 8: The 1969 U.S. Open champion and U.S. Army veteran died at 74. "[He] was a patriot first and a professional golfer second," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said.
Gary Newkirk, Getty Images
Craig Jones, Aug. 3: The 23-year-old racer, seen here after the Qatar Supersport motorcycle race in February, died hours after a horrific high-speed crash at the World Supersport Championship.
Hasan Jamali, AP
Skip Caray, Aug. 3: The longtime Atlanta Braves broadcaster, and son of Hall of Famer Harry, died in his sleep at 68.
Atlanta Braves, MLB / Getty Images
Gyorgy Kolonics, July 15: The two-time gold medalist, who had won 15 world championships, collapsed in his canoe while training for the Olympics.
Scott Barbour, Getty Images
Todd Doxey, July 13: A redshirt freshman on the Oregon football team died tragically after trying to swim the McKenzie River during an inner-tube trip with several teammates.
San Diego Union Tribune / Zuma Press
Bobby Murcer, July 12: The long-time Yankees star and broadcaster lost his battle with brain cancer at 62.
Julie Jacobson, AP
Mando Ramos, July 6: The two-time lightweight boxing champion, seen here in 1967, who claimed he "never really trained, not for a single fight," went into respiratory arrest and passed away at his home.
Ben Olender, The Los Angeles Times / AP
Terrence Kiel, July 3: The former Chargers safety was killed in a car crash in an affluent San Diego neighborhood. Witnesses told police he appeared to be driving in the wrong direction when he crashed.
In a preseason game on August 12th, 1978, Oakland's Jack Tatum met Patriots receiver Darryl Stingley with a forearm to the head that left Stingley paralyzed.
Stingley broke his fourth and fifth vertebrae and would live the rest of his life as a quadriplegic. At the time of the hit, he was set to be the NFL's highest paid receiver (they had agreed to the contract but they were waiting to sign it when they returned from Oakland). He died in April 2007.
That hit sent shockwaves throughout football. Anti-football fans pointed to it as the violent nature of the game. At the time, Tatum's hit was legal ... but the league then made rules to stop overly-aggressive plays and hits and allowed for some safety for receivers.
Gene Upshaw, a guard for the Raiders at the time, befriended Stingley and carried a long friendship. Upshaw would go on to become leader of the NFLPA, though his work for disabled veterans remains spotty. He has been able to get teams to up their disability benefits.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said last week that he thinks the NFL's salary structure -- in which highly drafted rookies are guaranteed eight-figure paydays before they ever set foot on the field -- is "ridiculous" and "something wrong.
Yesterday NFL Players' Association chief Gene Upshaw took issue with Goodell's comments when he addressed the 252 drafted players at the NFL Rookie Symposium.
Financial records show that the NFLPA paid $12,461 to have documents shredded over the past year.
The NFLPA is required to make annual financial filings with the U.S. Department of Labor and on May28 turned in its report for the period covering March 1, 2007 to Feb.29, 2008. It showed that the players' union paid $12,461 for document shredding to Office Shredders, an Elkridge, Md., company.
The NFLPA moved its Washington offices four-tenths of a mile, from 2021 L Street NW to 1133 20th Street NW, last year. According to industry experts, it is not unusual for a company to purge documents as part of a move.
That is true and, under normal circumstances, shouldn't raise too many eyebrows.
However, the NFLPA has taken a lot of heat recently over their treatment of retired players. There were Congressional hearings held and an oversight committee taking a look at retired players' claims. One of the things that committee is looking at is documentation.
The National Football League Players Association has been led for a quarter century by Gene Upshaw, whose often brusque demeanor, combined with his stances on issues like guaranteed contracts and pension plans, has made him a controversial figure.
Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover and New York Giants center Shaun O'Hara are among the players who have publicly criticized Upshaw's leadership and questioned whether it's time for someone else to come along. But Upshaw still has the support of the majority of players' union leaders, including 49ers cornerback Walt Harris.
One of the strangest things about the way the NFL does business is that unproven rookies routinely get paid more money than established veterans. Some teams have highly drafted rookies who get signing bonuses in the tens of millions while Pro Bowlers on the same team haven't made that much in their entire careers.
Tennessee Titans center Kevin Mawae wants to change that. And Mawae has the power to do quite a bit about it, because he's the president of the NFL Players' Association. On ESPN Radio today, Mawae said this:
"I know there is sentiment around the league amongst the players like, 'Let's do something to control these salaries and control these signing bonuses' and things like that, and I know that's something that the owners are talking about and I'm sure that's going to play in to this round of negotiations for this collective bargaining agreement,"
It's refreshing to hear Mawae say that because Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the Players' Association, is clinging to a system that hurts the veteran players. When it comes to fair and equitable pay for rookies and veterans, the NBA has a far more sensible system than the NFL. It's good to know that Mawae realizes that, even if Upshaw doesn't.
Nearly six months after losing Gene Upshaw to pancreatic cancer, the National Football League Players' Association (NFLPA) has a new executive director. DeMaurice Smith, a Washington, DC attorney, was elected to succeed Upshaw Sunday night. 
The NFL 
Multiple news outlets are reporting that Gene Upshaw, the Oakland Raiders Hall of Famer who has ruled the NFL players' union for the last quarter century, has died at the age of 63.
In a preseason game on August 12th, 1978, Oakland's 
NFL Commissioner 
Financial records show that the NFLPA paid $12,461 to 
The National Football League Players Association has been led for a quarter century by 
One of the strangest things about the way the NFL does business is that unproven rookies routinely get paid more money than established veterans. Some teams have highly drafted rookies who get signing bonuses in the tens of millions while Pro Bowlers on the same team haven't made that much in their entire careers.
