Browns' Tretter Elected NFLPA President; Stance On CBA Unclear
The NFLPA today elected Browns C JC Tretter as President, replacing outgoing leader Eric Winston as the union faces a major internal struggle over the proposed CBA. Tretter, who has not made his opinion known on the CBA, beat out Buccaneers LB Sam Acho -- a yes voter -- and Giants S Michael Thomas, a CBA opponent. Tretter had to win a majority of votes cast inside the 32-member board of player reps, and accomplished that on the first ballot, according to a source. An exact vote count is unknown.
Tretter carved out a middle ground between Acho and Thomas, casting himself as the man who would operate well regardless of how the CBA vote goes this week, according to a source. Last week, Tretter wrote a four-page, plain English summary of the deal, including its upsides and drawbacks, but he has not publicly said how he voted, or if he has voted yet. NFLPA members have until 11:59pm ET Saturday to cast a vote on the pending CBA, which would add a 17th game to the NFL season in exchange for a variety of improvements to player income and work rules. Prior to being drafted by the Packers in '13, Tretter studied industrial and labor relations at Cornell, the same program that produced Rob Manfred and Gary Bettman.
Earlier in the day, Chargers OT Russell Okung withdrew from the race. Okung is a stalwart opponent of the new CBA who this week filed an unfair labor practices complaint against Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith. That position was unable to command a majority of the NFLPA's leadership in the presidential vote today, but it is not clear how much those leaders reflect the position of the nearly 2,500-strong union membership.
