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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/Goosedukee on 2025-08-15 00:48:00+00:00.
Original Title: [Van Natta, Passan] The NFLPA placed one of its top lawyers on paid administrative leave. Heather McPhee, the NFLPA’s associate general counsel, was the subject of numerous complaints to Human Resources. The decision comes month after her allegations sparked an FBI investigation into the union.
The NFL Players Association placed one of its top lawyers on paid administrative leave Tuesday after multiple employees filed complaints with the union’s human resources department, five sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN on Thursday.
Heather McPhee, associate general counsel for the NFLPA since 2009, was the subject of complaints alleging her failure to follow supervisors’ directions as well as allegations of bullying colleagues and disrupting the union’s work environment, the sources told ESPN.
The decision to place her on leave comes months after her allegations helped prompt a federal investigation into the financial dealings of the NFLPA and the Major League Baseball Players Association in relation to OneTeam Partners, their $2 billion licensing company.
McPhee did not return phone or text messages from ESPN on Thursday. Her lawyer, William Pittard, did not return messages. An NFLPA spokesperson declined to comment, saying they do not comment on personnel matters.
Among those filing complaints about McPhee’s alleged workplace conduct, sources familiar with the situation said, was Matt Curtin, the head of NFL Players Inc., the licensing arm of the union, and a member of the OneTeam board.
Inside the union’s Washington, D.C., headquarters, McPhee was an outspoken and frequent critic of recently departed NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell Jr., the sources told ESPN.
She had previously retained counsel amid the ongoing FBI inquiry into the two unions’ relationship with OneTeam. The group-licensing firm is 44.5% owned by the NFLPA, the sources told ESPN.
The workplace allegations against McPhee were outlined in a letter dated Tuesday and signed by the NFLPA’s new interim executive director, David White. Portions of the letter were read to an ESPN reporter Thursday. The sources said the NFLPA months ago hired an outside firm, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, to investigate the allegations against McPhee.
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McPhee urged the NFLPA to investigate claims that OneTeam board members had allocated equity shares to themselves. The NFLPA eventually hired attorney Richard Smith to investigate the OneTeam arrangement. Smith’s audit of the NFLPA’s dealings with OneTeam concluded in March, with McPhee alleging that Howell had improperly shut it down.
Several sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN that McPhee has not been deemed a whistleblower in the FBI case, meaning she would not receive a whistleblower’s legal protections.
The scope of the federal criminal investigation is unknown, but sources have told ESPN multiple football and baseball players have been contacted by the FBI and the investigation remains ongoing.