With the preseason tapes being dissected by teams all around the league, a new headline has taken hold of the NFLPA. In the past couple of months, allegations of collusion against players have already rattled the union, with many voicing grievances. Remember the Ravens–Jackson saga? Now, the spotlight shifts to the union’s own work environment. The upheaval began in early August when the NFL Players Association named David White as interim executive director just 17 days after Lloyd Howell Jr. resigned. That announcement was supposed to bring stability, yet instead, a storm is brewing as reports surface of multiple internal complaints, hinting that the real battles may be inside the union walls.
At the eye of the storm is Heather McPhee, associate general counsel for the NFLPA since 2009, who is now the subject of explosive workplace allegations. Reports claim she failed to follow supervisors’ directions, bullied colleagues, and disrupted the union’s work environment, as per ESPN. The NFLPA has taken further steps against her, escalating an already volatile situation inside the organization. Before the NFLPA proves these allegations, it needs to provide extensive proof to counter the claims of retaliation.
NFLPA puts in-house counsel Heather McPhee on paid leave. https://t.co/k3wAQG60aE
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) August 15, 2025
The decision to place McPhee on leave comes months after her own accusations helped spark a federal investigation. The probe is focused on the financial dealings of the NFLPA and MLBPA in connection with OneTeam Partners, their $2 billion licensing company. McPhee had retained legal counsel in June as the FBI inquiry into the unions’ relationship with OneTeam intensified. The fact that the licensing firm is 44.5% owned by the NFLPA makes matters murkier.
All these had been brewing for the past couple of months. On May 30, McPhee sent a memo to the NFLPA executive committee revealing federal investigators had contacted her about OneTeam Partners and the NFLPA. According to Kaplan, McPhee wrote that she was ordered to stop working on the OneTeam investigation “with the threat of employment discipline.” That directive added more fuel to the already brewing internal conflict.
David White, the NFLPA’s interim executive director, signed a letter dated Tuesday that officially outlined the workplace allegations against McPhee. All of the information came to light when portions of the letter were read to an ESPN reporter on Thursday (August 14). Sources added that the NFLPA had hired outside law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe months ago to investigate the accusations. This sets the stage for a battle that could shake the union from the inside out.
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