NFLPA lawyer Heather McPhee sues union for alleged retaliation - ESPN

A senior National Football League Players Association attorney filed a federal lawsuit Thursday, alleging that the union's former executive director and two current executives conspired to keep her from cooperating with a criminal investigation into union finances.

Heather McPhee, the NFLPA's associate general counsel since 2009, accuses top union executives and former executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. of illegal misconduct, sex discrimination, breach of fiduciary duty and retaliation as she prepared to become the star witness in a yearlong criminal inquiry, according to the lawsuit.

McPhee says she was placed on paid administrative leave for alleged workplace «misconduct» in August because she had repeatedly raised legal concerns about union leaders' decisions and to stop her from testifying before a federal grand jury investigating the NFLPA and the Major League Baseball Players Association.

The 52-page complaint, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, was filed Thursday by McPhee and her lawyers in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. It seeks at least $10 million in damages for her lost earning potential and as «compensation for her humiliation, embarrassment and emotional distress,» the lawsuit says.

A union spokesperson and an attorney for Howell did not immediately respond to calls for comment on Thursday.

McPhee's attorneys, Courtney R. Forrest and Sarah R. Fink, released a statement saying their client «believes this case reveals egregious failures by those still at the organization who owe legal and moral duties to thousands of union members. They deserve better, and she deserves accountability.»

In November 2024, McPhee first raised concerns internally at the NFLPA that decisions made by senior