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Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom width="99%">Gene Upshaw has been harshly criticized for not doing enough for retired players who have encountered health problems.
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SportsTicker
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An effort apparently is under way to oust Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association.
ESPN.com reported Tuesday that Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover e-mailed a plan to fellow player representatives to have a new union leader in place by next March.
During a conference call on Friday, Stover illicited opinions from other player representatives, who he claimed wanted Upshaw to be replaced.
“I was on that conference call,” Stover told ESPN.com. “And I am not the only rep who listened and felt that it was time for a change.”
Upshaw, whose contract expires in 2010, has been the leader of the NFLPA since 1983.
With a possible labor confrontation looming between the players and owners, Upshaw said in March that he would not leave until a new contract was hammered out.
On Tuesday, he told ESPN.com, “Obviously, there’s a group of players that feels we need to have a change now.”
Upshaw has been harshly criticized for not doing enough for retired players who have encountered health problems.
In November, Kyle Turley became the first active player to publicly criticize Upshaw, calling the disability plan inadequate to handle the needs of retired players who have been financially and physically debilitated by football injuries.
However, Upshaw reacted angrily to Stover’s e-mailing, saying the player has “no clue.”
“Whoever is pulling his chain is doing a disservice to the union,” Upshaw said. “I could understand that they need to get rid of me if I wasn’t doing a good job, but, shoot, the owners are mad because they think I’ve done too good of a job.”
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom width="99%">Gene Upshaw has been harshly criticized for not doing enough for retired players who have encountered health problems.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
SportsTicker
updated 1 hour, 43 minutes ago<SCRIPT language=javascript> function UpdateTimeStamp(pdt) { var n = document.getElementById("udtD"); if(pdt != '' && n && window.DateTime) { var dt = new DateTime(); pdt = dt.T2D(pdt); if(dt.GetTZ(pdt)) {n.innerHTML = dt.D2S(pdt,((''.toLowerCase()=='false')?false:true));** ** ** UpdateTimeStamp('633432737670000000');</SCRIPT>
An effort apparently is under way to oust Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association.
ESPN.com reported Tuesday that Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover e-mailed a plan to fellow player representatives to have a new union leader in place by next March.
During a conference call on Friday, Stover illicited opinions from other player representatives, who he claimed wanted Upshaw to be replaced.
“I was on that conference call,” Stover told ESPN.com. “And I am not the only rep who listened and felt that it was time for a change.”
Upshaw, whose contract expires in 2010, has been the leader of the NFLPA since 1983.
With a possible labor confrontation looming between the players and owners, Upshaw said in March that he would not leave until a new contract was hammered out.
On Tuesday, he told ESPN.com, “Obviously, there’s a group of players that feels we need to have a change now.”
Upshaw has been harshly criticized for not doing enough for retired players who have encountered health problems.
In November, Kyle Turley became the first active player to publicly criticize Upshaw, calling the disability plan inadequate to handle the needs of retired players who have been financially and physically debilitated by football injuries.
However, Upshaw reacted angrily to Stover’s e-mailing, saying the player has “no clue.”
“Whoever is pulling his chain is doing a disservice to the union,” Upshaw said. “I could understand that they need to get rid of me if I wasn’t doing a good job, but, shoot, the owners are mad because they think I’ve done too good of a job.”
