NFLPA releases statement for players after Lloyd Howell Jr.'s sudden exit amid controversies

The NFL Players Association has released a statement after Lloyd Howell Jr.'s sudden resignation. On Thursday, Howell submitted his resignation as executive director of the association.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero shared the NFLPA's official statement on the matter, which was issued to players after Howell's resignation.

"This evening, Lloyd Howell informed us that he is stepping down as Executive Director of the union," the statement read. "We accepted his resignation and are grateful for his service. The Board will convene as soon as possible for a meeting on next steps and will be in touch with our membership soon."

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Howell was sued in 2011 for sexual discrimination and retaliation during his time as a senior executive at Booz Allen Hamilton. However, there has been some controversy about whether players were made aware of this when they voted for him in 2023.

According to a report from ESPN, two players' representatives who voted for Howell spoke to the publication and revealed that the topic of the lawsuit never came up when they met as a group in 2023.

"I felt really good about the process leading up to it," said one of the players, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Now that all this stuff is coming out, I am like -- wait a second, what happened there?" "To find this out after we elected Lloyd is concerning; it feels like it was quashed," a different player rep told a confidant, who shared the comments with ESPN.

Controversy surrounds the NFLPA regarding past Lloyd Howell Jr. lawsuit

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However, while some players claim that information on the lawsuit was never shared with them, others say they were made aware. ESPN also reports that two players, who sat on the union's executive committee that also voted for Lloyd Howell Jr., contend that the settled lawsuit was shared with all players' reps in the 2023 meeting.

They went as far as to suggest that Howell was "grilled" in front of the reps regarding the lawsuit. Several committee players took part in a one-hour interview with ESPN, with some forgetting what was asked of Howell or simply not wanting to divulge what was said.

Despite the wide range of views from players' reps on the subject, the fact remains that Lloyd Howell's time as executive director of the NFL Players Association has come to an end.

Edited by R. Elahi