NFLPA Lawsuit Could Damage the League, Too

The discrimination lawsuit filed by long-time NFLPA human resources director Mary Moran against her former employer continues to make waves, as court documents from the case have revealed that union leaders held secret meetings with league officials to discuss labor issues, which has resulted in the union being a target of a federal investigation in the existence of attempted collusion.

In court documents filed in District of Columbia Superior Court on Thursday, Moran said she provided investigators evidence that former NFLPA president Troy Vincent and other union members met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, allegedly to provide the league access to confidential union information.

She alleged that NFLPA executive committee member Mark Bruener and Texans player representative Kris Brown also attended the meetings, which she claims were not authorized by or reported to the union. She alleged the meetings were a bid by union members to gain influence with the NFL while providing "owners a toehold in the NFLPA."

Vincent (pictured) had already landed in hot water with the union due to a December 2007 e-mail he sent that included personal data about 41 NFL agents, each representing 15 or more clients in the league, to his business partner Mark Mangum. Now he's alleged by Moran to have been party to an attempted coup of DeMaurice Smith, the man who beat him out for the job of executive director of NFLPA earlier this year. Of course, Moran, daughter of Rep. Jim Moran (D - Va.), is also accusing Smith of meeting with a Department of Justice official in a bid to end the investigation of the union, so if she has her way, no one gets out of this clean.

While NFL spokesman Greg Aiello downplayed any speculation by noting that Roger Goodell has an open-door policy for meetings, Mike Florio is claiming that the secret meetings, should the claims be true, could be more detrimental to the league than the union, as it would illustrate that the league was engaging in unfair labor practices in trying to circumvent the union's leadership. Given that, it wouldn't be a shock to see this suit play an ever-expanding role as collective bargaining agreement talks inch closer to their deadline.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.