NFLPA members disagree over knowledge of Lloyd Howell lawsuit

NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell Jr. was sued in 2011 for sexual discrimination and retaliation while he was a senior executive at Booz Allen. But a dispute has emerged about whether the players who voted for him were aware of the lawsuit prior to his 2023 election -- the latest development surrounding Howell's position as union leader.

Two player representatives who voted for Howell told ESPN, this week, they were surprised to learn of the lawsuit, because they said when they met as a group in June 2023 to select between two candidates for executive director, the subject never came up.

"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.

However, two other players, who sat on the union's executive committee that vetted and chose Howell as a finalist in 2023, disputed those accounts in a joint interview Wednesday night. They told ESPN that the existence of the lawsuit, which was ultimately settled, was shared with all player reps at the 2023 election meeting. They said Howell was "grilled" about the lawsuit in front of the player reps, so they failed to understand how some player reps now say they didn't know about it.

In a one-hour interview with ESPN, the executive committee players at times said they could not recall details about what was asked of Howell and how he responded to questions and, at other times, said they did not want to divulge details of what was said.

"Full disclosures were made to everybody ... and questions were asked," said one of the executive committee members, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "The worst thing we could do was get the wrong guy, right? We need everybody to feel comfortable, and we aren't going to have something bite us in a year, or two, or three, or five. We can't have that happen. ... We obviously all decided we were OK with moving forward [with Howell's candidacy] or we would have shut it down."

Although the executive committee vets candidates and chooses finalists, the 32 player reps elect the union leader. The two executive committee sources said they first raised the sexual discrimination lawsuit with Howell before they made him a finalist. They said they were satisfied with his responses to all questions about his past. "Everything was very thorough," the other executive committee member told ESPN. "We felt comfortable with his answers. And we privately felt good about what he said."

One of the executive committee members said it was "obnoxious" that player reps told ESPN what happened behind closed doors at the election. "And it wasn't true," he said. "It's frustrating when this happens, people going to reporters. Don't be talking about our business to a freaking reporter. That doesn't build trust in our group."

A union spokesperson declined to comment and said Howell would have no comment.

In August 2011, Margo Fitzpatrick, a partner at Booz Allen, sued the firm, Howell and three other senior executives alleging the company denied female employees leadership roles and excluded them from certain career opportunities provided to men.

Fitzpatrick alleged that Howell, who became her team leader in 2009, told her that the finance industry was "'a good ole boys club' in which only men could succeed" and excluded her from client meetings. Fitzpatrick also alleged that Howell questioned whether two other female colleagues had been in sororities in college because they caused "drama." She reported Howell's alleged conduct to senior leadership and was later denied a promotion and terminated, the lawsuit states.

A spokeswoman for Booz Allen didn't respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

The lawsuit was settled in July 2015 for an undisclosed sum, sources told ESPN. Fitzpatrick did not respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday. Her lawyer, Debra Katz, declined to comment through a spokesman.

The NFLPA used search firm Russell Reynolds Associates to find an executive director to succeed DeMaurice Smith, who led the union from 2009 to 2023. The NFLPA paid the firm about $500,000 in the fiscal year ended Feb. 29, 2024, according to the union's annual federal LM-2 report.

Russell Reynolds did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Union officials introduced Howell and the only other finalist, former SAG-AFTRA chief David P. White, to the player reps after they arrived for the election at the Salamander Resort in Middleburg, Virginia, on June 28, 2023, sources told ESPN. The player reps listened to presentations from, and were able to ask questions of, Howell and White over the course of two days before casting their ballots.

It was during the course of these meetings that the 32 player reps were either told -- or not -- about the Booz Allen lawsuit.

The player rep who said he didn't know about the lawsuit said he voted for Howell but has no recollection of the lawsuit or its details. "No, no, I hadn't heard," he said. "I feel like we just trusted them that they were doing all of that [research]."

In the executive committee's monthslong vetting of Howell, before he was brought to the board of players representatives as a finalist, the two executive committee members said they worked closely with Russell Reynolds.

"We were aware of the lawsuit with Booz Allen ... right in the beginning of the process. I cannot remember if we saw a copy of it," one of the members said. "I would say the biggest resource was Russell Reynold. ... That's their job to make sure there are no surprises or worse, after you hire somebody."

The executive committee members said they also consulted with Booz Allen lawyers and union general counsel about the lawsuit's particulars.

The lawyers "gave us the green light that we should feel comfortable," one of the executive committee members said. "To be clear, no one told us, 'Hey, he's good, you can let him through the doors now.' We as a group made that decision -- we did our due diligence.

"We all collectively had to be OK with it, or we wouldn't have moved forward with it. We had a chance to speak with Lloyd for hours and hours and hours."

Howell presented himself as someone who had fought against unions and therefore was familiar with how they operate, according to one of the player reps who spoke to ESPN.

"In a nutshell, it was like, 'I am going to know how to negotiate with the owners because I am from their world. I am a businessman,'" the player said. "'I have been the guy fighting against unions for the corporation. So I know exactly how they think and how they do things.' I was like, well shoot, he knows the other side, so maybe that is good for us."

Player reps in previous executive director elections had upwards of two weeks to vet final candidates, but the union in recent years changed its bylaws to shorten the length of time for due diligence in order to avoid leaks, multiple sources told ESPN.

Howell's leadership has come under scrutiny following a series of ESPN reports over the past several weeks.

In May, ESPN reported that the FBI is investigating the union's financial dealings related to a multibillion-dollar group-licensing firm, OneTeam Partners. According to sources, the report triggered the union to hire Ronald C. Machen of law firm Wilmer Hale to review Howell's activities as the executive director.

Last week, ESPN reported that Howell is working as a paid, part-time consultant for the Carlyle Group, one of the league-approved private equity firms seeking ownership in NFL teams. ESPN also reported last week that Howell struck a confidentiality agreement with the NFL six months ago that hid the details of a January arbitration decision from players, including a finding that league executives urged team owners to reduce guaranteed player compensation.

At least a dozen player reps and executive committee members that ESPN has sought comment from have declined, and multiple sources say the union has urged members not to talk to the media.

The NFLPA's executive committee backed Howell in a message sent to membership Sunday, saying it has "established a deliberate process to carefully assess the issues that have been raised and will not engage in a rush to judgement. We believe in and remain committed to working with our Executive Director and other members of NFLPA staff and player leadership."

In the interview Wednesday night, the two executive committee members gave a ringing endorsement to Howell's leadership. "We felt great about the process," one of them said. "We are 100 percent behind Lloyd."