MLB players union leader Tony Clark resigns, facing multitude of allegations

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Though he’s part of his union’s executive subcommittee, Mets infielder Marcus Semien learned of Tony Clark’s resignation around the same time the rest of the world — on Tuesday morning, just hours before the executive director was set to begin his yearly tour of spring training complexes.

That alone underscored Clark’s surprising exit from the Major League Baseball Players’ Association — one that got thornier as the day progressed. Tuesday afternoon, ESPN reported that Clark, who’s also embroiled in a federal investigation, resigned after an internal investigation revealed he had an “inappropriate relationship” with his sister-in-law, who was hired by the MLBPA in 2013. The union has yet to publicly announce the resignation.

Clark, who assumed the role in 2013, leaves his post just as baseball barrels toward what could be one of the most contentious labor negotiations in the league’s history — one that many say has the potential to result in a 2027 lockout. The collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, and comes as owners push to implement a salary cap — something the union has vehemently opposed in the past.

“This (resignation) came out with no discussion with the reps,” said Semien, who, at the time, was unaware of the newest allegations and assumed Clark’s decision was tied to the federal probe. “We have 30 other team reps that are seeing this news. It’s hard to process right now. . . . I just want our player group to move forward this year and be able to have a good year of negotiating with leadership that cares about what players want."

“This is tough.”

In addition to the union’s internal findings, the Eastern District of New York is investigating Clark and the players' union under allegations that he used licensing money for personal financial gain. In June, Clark and the MLBPA hired separate legal counsels — an indication the two entities are not aligned in their legal interests. Federal investigators are looking into two organizations tied to Clark and the union, according to published reports: Players Way, a youth baseball company, and OneTeam Partners, a sports licensing company that’s also partially owned by the NFL Players’ Association.

In a July meeting with members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, Clark said that “we have and we will continue to fully cooperate with that investigation.”

The resignation puts the MLBPA in flux at a time when the divisions between owners and players are expected to lead to lengthy negotiations. It’s unclear who will replace Clark, but given the tight timeline, the job may go to Bruce Meyer, who is to be the union’s primary negotiator during upcoming labor talks. According to multiple reports, though, members of the MLBPA petitioned Clark to replace Meyer in 2024.

Semien said on Tuesday that he “had the ultimate confidence in Bruce Meyer to be the lead negotiator for this leader group.” He said the union will try to “iron out (an interim director) as soon as possible.”

Semien noted that “it’s better than if (the resignation) happened right at December.”

Though he didn’t know the true nature of the resignation at the time, Semien said it was “hard to answer” whether players had lost trust in Clark in light of the federal investigation.

“It was Tony sending a letter of resignation during an investigation,” Semien said. “That’s where we’re at. It’s still an investigation that’s going on. . . . It’s not overly surprising but it still hurts.”

Added Yankees manager Aaron Boone, a union representative when he played with the Reds: “All I can tell you is I want to play baseball…

“I hope that the two sides do come together in the end because I think we’re in an awesome time in our game. I think the popularity of it is strong. And hopefully both sides realize that and there is a middle ground that everyone can come to where everyone’s benefitting. We don’t want to see this game go away for an extended period.”

Newsday's Erik Boland contributed to this story.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.