The Major League Baseball Players Association has shut down Players Way, the youth-baseball initiative currently being looked into by federal investigators as part of a wide-ranging probe into the union’s finances, a union official told ESPN on Tuesday.
Founded by former MLBPA executive director Tony Clark, Players Way sought to provide clinics, camps and showcases to amateur baseball players. But scant attendance and high salaries for a number of employees and contractors put the organization in the crosshairs of the federal probe currently being conducted by the Eastern District of New York.
The investigation into Players Way, first reported by ESPN in October, came in the wake of a whistleblower complaint that accused Clark of self-dealing, misuse of union resources, abuse of power and nepotism. Clark resigned in February after an internal union investigation revealed an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who is an employee at the union.
Clark, one source told ESPN, personally approved transfers of union funds, typically in six-figure chunks, to help keep Players Way afloat amid limited revenues generated by the company. In a statement to ESPN in October, he stood by Players Way and suggested it would continue as a union priority: “The goal — informed by Players themselves — isn’t to become just another cog in the youth sports machinery, putting profits over players. It aims higher: to meet players where they are, teach the game the right way, and to foster lifelong lessons creating lifelong fans. Future generations deserve nothing less.”
Though the MLBPA told ESPN it invested around $3.9 million into Players Way, two sources with knowledge of the union’s finances who had spoken with investigators told ESPN the number was closer to $10 million. One former senior union official called Players Way’s finances a “black box.”
The union nevertheless has built up a sizable war chest in preparation for a potential lockout upon the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement Dec. 1. Among United States treasuries, investments and cash, the union has more than $400 million in liquid reserves, according to its latest LM-2 report, which unions must file annually with the government.
The LM-2 mentioned Players Way on the second to last of its 209 pages, saying: “Players Way LLC was focused on youth sports initiatives.”
