MLBPA Tony Clark Resigns After Alleged Relationship With Sister-In-Law

With most sports scandals involving the NBA and NFL, the latest accuses the MLB of being the culprit.

Just ahead of renegotiating its Collective Bargaining Agreement, the MLBPA’s executive director, Tony Clark, has resigned from his post.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan says Clark stepping down was an attempt to get ahead of a scandal that started with a federal probe that accused him of mishandling union funds.

But while investigating, the union hired outside counsel from the firm of Morrison Foerster and found something more personal, possible evidence of an affair with his sister-in-law, who also works for the union.

“Over the weekend, members of the MLBPA’s eight-player executive subcommittee were presented with exchanges between Clark and his sister-in-law. On Monday, he was asked to resign,” writes the Athletic, while Passan confirms that the relationship was “inappropriate.”

The scandal could not have come at a worse time, with the CBA schedule to expire Dec. 1.

This winter, they’re expected to get into a heated round of negotiations over salary cap and free agency rules to even the playing field and temper the big bank accounts that some team owners have. So similar to 2021, a lockout is expected.

More than ever, the MLBPA needs a leader in place to represent the players’ interests, so electing a new leader is integral. There’s deputy executive director Bruce Meyer, who led the bargaining during the 2021 lockout, but after execs and all the teams’ representatives spoke, they decided not to rush a decision. 

“I feel we have made mistakes in the past by making rushed decisions,” said Baltimore Orioles pitcher and subcommittee member Chris Bassitt. “The executive subcommittee and all the reps agreed we want to get this right. We don’t want to get it done just because there’s a void.”

But social media is less concerned with how the scandal affects the CBA and more focused on Clark’s family tree and the sister-in-law with whom he was inappropriate.

See the reactions below.