NFLPA Hires DC Attorney To Look Into Claims Against Vincent

By Daniel Kaplan & Liz Mullen, Staff Writers, SportsBusiness Journal

Yablonski To Investigate Claims Against Vincent

The NFLPA has hired DC-based attorney Joseph Yablonski to investigate whether sensitive personal and financial information about top agents was compromised by Troy Vincent, the leading candidate for the union’s Exec Dir position. Yablonski is an attorney at Yablonski Both & Edelman, which has worked as an outside counsel on various matters for the NFLPA over the last 25 years. Yablonski, who confirmed he has been hired, declined further comment. The issue has erupted into public view since SI.com reported Friday that Vincent had compromised private agent information. A source close to Vincent said he did this inadvertently in ‘07 when he was NFLPA President and was helping the union look into ties between financial advisers and agents. He sent an e-mail to his financial services firm Eltekon that included an attachment with the personal information, the source said. The NFLPA said in a statement, “We have retained outside legal counsel to look into this matter and we will be taking the appropriate steps, including written notification to any agent who may be affected. Counsel is also investigating what, if anything, was done with any personal information that may have been transmitted.”

REASONS FOR ALLEGATIONS: Multiple sources said that the allegations center on whether Vincent downloaded the most recent agent applications of 41 powerful NFL player agents who represent the majority of the players in the league, and sent it to his business partner Mark Mangum. Mangum and Vincent have together formed a number of past and present businesses -- which count NFL players as clients -- including Eltekon Management Group, Eltekon Insurance Agency, Eltekon Advisors, Eltekon Business Services, Eltekon Securities, Eltekon Financial and Eltekon Hedge. The information in the lengthy agent applications at the NFLPA includes, among other things, the agent’s social security and driver’s license numbers; the names of all the NFL players and other athletes the agent has represented; the ownership structure of the agent’s firm; all of the agent’s employees who deal with athletes; any lawsuits or liens which have been filed against them; any financial advisors they have relationships with and if they are paid for referrals to financial advisors. It is not clear if this is the only information which is alleged to have been accessed.

YABLONSKI'S PAST NFLPA WORK: The nature of the work Yablonski has done for the NFLPA in the past is unclear. In the year ended February 28, 2007, the union paid him $53,200, according to the NFLPA annual report filed with the Department of Labor. The year before, the union paid him $140,481, according to that year’s annual report. In each case, the purpose given was “professional services.” The union meets in Maui beginning March 13 to elect its next Exec Dir. Vincent is one of three candidates.

SEARCH COMPROMISED? Agent Brad Blank said, "If the allegation is true, if they knew about this thing and they still allowed Vincent to be in the final three, the whole search is compromised" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/25).