Tony Clark resigns as MLBPA director amid investigation

MLBPA executive director Tony Clark resigned from his position Tuesday, mere months before the start of a potential lockout.

The resignation came the same day that Clark was supposed to begin his annual tour of spring training camps.

Clark, 53, had been in the position since 2013. The 15-year major league veteran has been under investigation by the Eastern District of New York since last summer for improper use of licensing money. ESPN reported Tuesday that the investigation revealed he had an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who had been hired by the union in 2023.

"The strength of this union is -- and will always be -- the solidarity of our membership," the union said in a statement confirming Clark's resignation. "We have a long history of fighting for the rights of every Player, and we're committed to making sure we can continue that fight successfully."

The union also said the full executive board of player representatives met with staff and counsel Tuesday afternoon "to discuss next steps."

"This happening during the investigation is not overly surprising," New York Mets second baseman Marcus Semien, also a subcommittee member, told reporters Tuesday. "But it still hurts. It's still something I'm processing and 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.

"The timing being February, when we're looking forward to December when the CBA expires, is better than it happening in November if something came out."

The investigation is focused on the MLBPA's use of OneTeam Partners, a multibillion-dollar group-licensing company that the union co-founded in 2019 with the NFL players union, as well as Players Way, a for-profit, youth baseball initiative that has spent at least $3.9 million but offered few events, ESPN reported. Players Way has been shut down, ESPN reported, though union officials declined to confirm that action.

The MLBPA hired outside counsel to keep the players updated on the government's investigation, which began after a whistleblower complaint filed against Clark with the National Labor Relations Board in November 2024. The complaint alleged self-dealing, misuse of resources, abuse of power and nepotism.

That attorney, Adam Braverman, and Clark's lawyer, Daniel Collins, did not respond to ESPN's requests for comment on Tuesday.

Clark took over as director of the MLBPA in 2013 after the death of former director Michael Weiner. He oversaw a pair of new CBA agreements, an on-time one in 2017 and another after the 2021 season which resulted in a 99-day shutdown of the sport and was resolved just in time for an on-time Opening Day.

That CBA agreement expires at the end of the upcoming season, and the two sides appear to be far apart in negotiations on a few key topics. Most notably, owners have expressed desire to establish a salary cap that exists in all other major professional American sports.

The union has said that is a non-starter, with Clark vehemently opposing the creation of a salary cap, saying it would not help the sport's competitive balance.

It remains to be seen what timeline there could be for the election of a new MLBPA director and how that could affect the CBA negotiations, which normally carry on over the course of the season.

MLB has not lost games due to a lockout since the 1994 strike canceled that year's World Series.

--Field Level Media