Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association, is expected to resign after an internal investigation revealed an “inappropriate” relationship with his sister-in-law, The Athletic and ESPN reported Tuesday. The relative had reportedly been hired by the union in 2023. The stunning news of Clark’s departure comes just months before the current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on Dec. 1.
“You definitely don’t want things to be a distraction going into December,” Marcus Semien, a member of the MLBPA’s executive subcommittee, told reporters, including the New York Post, on Tuesday, adding Clark did not discuss his resignation with union leadership ahead of time. “So that’s all I can really say. Maybe (that is) why this is happening now.”
It’s unclear who will take over Clark’s role in the players’ union, but subcommittee member Brent Suter told The Athletic that the MLBPA will use an interim leader, citing the desire to “keep everything as stable as we can this year.” A Tuesday afternoon meeting of player leadership did not include a vote to name Clark’s replacement, per The Athletic.
“I 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. We don’t want to get it done just because there’s a void,” Chris Bassitt, a member of the executive subcommittee, told The Athletic. “I would think we would have this wrapped up within 24 hours, but at the end of the day I believe that making sure all 1,200-plus players have a true opinion on this and a true understanding of everything we know is more important than filling it as soon as possible.”
Clark and the MLBPA are under federal investigation by the Eastern District of New York. Prosecutors are looking into whether a licensing company co-founded by the MLBPA and the NFL players union, OneTeam Partners, was being used to financially enrich the union leaders. The full scope of the investigation into the company is unclear, but members of the executive subcommittee have been in contact with federal officials, according to The Athletic.
An MLBPA-owned youth baseball company, Players Way, is also under investigation for alleged financial impropriety. The company is said to have held few live events for kids even though the MLBPA put $3.9 million into the company. Players Way executives and consultants reportedly received six-figure salaries despite the company’s lack of events.
Six major issues for Tony Clark’s MLBPA replacement: Salary cap, international draft, more negotiating tasks
Mike Axisa
Three former members of the MLBPA’s executive subcommittee — Jack Flaherty, Lucas Giolito, and Ian Happ — attempted to remove Meyer as the union’s deputy director in December 2024. Flaherty, Giolito, and Happ were then voted out of the subcommittee. There are eight players on the subcommittee: Semien, Bassitt, Suter, Jake Cronenworth, Pete Fairbanks, Cedric Mullins, Paul Skenes, and Tarik Skubal.
CBA negotiations typically begin during the spring and get serious in April and throughout the summer. Clark’s expected resignation comes at a precarious time for MLB, as the upcoming labor negotiations are expected to get ugly. Both sides, in fact, have warned of the likelihood of a labor stoppage, though each blames the other, of course.Â
“In a bizarre way, it’s actually a positive,” commissioner Rob Manfred said last year of a lockout. “There is leverage associated with an offseason lockout and the process of collective bargaining under the (National Labor Relations Act) works based on leverage. The great thing about offseason lockouts is the leverage that exists gets applied between the bargaining parties.”
The salary cap — proposed by the owners — is again the biggest sticking point, as the league presents the idea of teamwide payroll minimums and maximums under the guise of parity. The union has always held that it will never accept a salary cap. Other issues expected to come up for debate include playoff expansion and an international draft.
Clark, 53, joined the MLBPA in 2010 following a 15-year playing career. He was unanimously approved as the union’s executive director in December 2013, following the death of Michael Weiner. Clark has overseen the last two CBA negotiations.
Clark was scheduled to begin his annual spring training tour Tuesday.