Steelers Now
UNITY TWP., Pa. — It’s been a tough offseason for the NFLPA, and Pittsburgh Steelers captain Cam Heyward knows it.
Heyward, the Steelers’ player representative and a vice president and executive committee member of the NFLPA, was asked about the union’s tumultuous offseason before the first day of Steelers training camp practice on Thursday, and he used the words the “whirlwind, chaos and volatility.”
“I’ve been on a lot of calls, gathering information,” Heyward said. “I know not everything is put together like it should, but the players especially have been working extremely hard to remedy the situation and move forward so we can have a union that we can thrive through chaos.”
The union has been rocked by repeated reporting about the dealings of former executive director Lloyd Howell and chief strategy officer JC Tretter, who both resigned this month.
There were multiple reported allegations of impropriety, from the union hiding Howell’s history of sexual harassment claims before he was hired, issues with the hiring process itself that was run by Tretter when he was president before he retired and then was hired by the union, to conflicts of interested in Howell’s side-dealings as a consultant and collusion between the union and the league to bury embarrassing details revealed in hearings.
The final straw for Howell was a report by ESPN that he turned in expenses related to attending an Atlanta strip club to the union.
Now, the union is seeking new leadership. As a newer member of the executive committee, Heyward will be responsible for part of that process, and knows the pressure is on to get it right this time.
“We understand that the communication has got to be better,” he said.
Heyward said integrity and transparency will be key in selecting a new leader — items that were not necessarily on the checklist the last time around. Howell’s hiring process was done in secret, and the union membership was kept in the dark about his past.
“Someone who can stay in charge and be in front of the group, demand the best for the players, integrity, transparency, but also to wait until a CBA to get stuff done,” Heyward said. “I’m excited to see how we can take off from here because there’s just been a lot of volatility there.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers’ Cam Heyward Calls for Increased Integrity, Transparency in NFLPA Leader
