David Cornwell Receives Third Recommendation For NFLPA Ballot

Cornwell Being Considered Again After Elimination In Jan.

Player attorney David Cornwell has secured three recommendations from player reps that he be added to the ballot for the election of the next NFLPA Exec Dir, after being eliminated from consideration in January. Cornwell received the third recommendation yesterday morning and was planning to fax them to Titans C and NFLPA President Kevin Mawae. Cornwell would not comment when reached on his cell phone. Mawae in an e-mail said, "I have received the written endorsements of 3 team player reps informing me of their desire to nominate David Cornwell for the office of Executive Director of the NFLPA. We have said all along that we will honor the constitution of the NFLPA if this were to happen, and as such David Cornwell will be given the same opportunity to be presented as a viable candidate for the [Exec Dir] position, no different than any other candidate." Some in the industry see the addition of Cornwell as an indication of a lack of trust by some player reps in the Exec Committee, which eliminated Cornwell in January. But another source said players just wanted more choices in a process which has played out behind closed doors with only a few players involved. The NFLPA Constitution states that three player reps may nominate a candidate by writing letters of endorsement 10 days before the election. The NFLPA meetings start in Maui on March 14, or nine days from today, but the election could be held anytime during the four-day meeting, according to different sources. The NFLPA Exec Committee voted to send former NFLPA Presidents Troy Vincent and Trace Armstrong and DC attorney DeMaurice Smith to Hawaii to stand for election (Mullen & Kaplan, SportsBusiness Journal).

WANTED MORE OPTIONS: NATIONAL FOOTBALL POST's Jack Bechta, a player agent who noted he does not "have a favorite" for the Exec Dir opening, wrote of Cornwell being added to the list of candidates, "The players have spoken, and the three players who stepped up should be heard. Their opinions matter since they obviously care enough about the process to act." Bechta talked to one of the three player reps who sent a recommendation on behalf of Cornwell, and the player said that he "simply wanted to have more options and is going into the election with an open mind -- no biases and no favorites." The player added that he "felt 'out of the loop' in the search process but believed the reps involved were working 'in the best interests of all the players.'" Bechta noted the player rep was not one of his clients (NATIONALFOOTBALLPOST.com, 3/4).