Lloyd Howell has resigned as executive director of the NFL Players Association, citing distractions his leadership has caused in recent weeks.
“Two years ago, I accepted the role of Executive Director of the NFLPA because I believe deeply in the mission of this union and the power of collective action to drive positive change for the players of America’s most popular sport,” Howell said in a statement released late Thursday night. “Our members deserve a union that will fight relentlessly for their health, safety, financial futures, and long-term well-being. My priority has been to lead that fight by serving this union with focus and dedication.
“It’s clear that my leadership has become a distraction to the important work the NFLPA advances every day. For this reason, I have informed the NFLPA Executive Committee that I am stepping down as Executive Director of the NFLPA and Chairman of the Board of NFL Players effective immediately. I hope this will allow the NFLPA to maintain its focus on its player members ahead of the upcoming season.”
Howell has come under scrutiny since ESPN reported he has maintained a part-time consulting job with the Carlyle Group, a private equity firm that holds league approval to seek minority ownership in NFL franchises.
That followed the revelation that the NFLPA and the league had a confidentiality agreement to keep quiet an arbitrator’s ruling about possible collusion by owners over quarterback salaries.
The latest issue was an ESPN report Thursday that revealed two player representatives who voted for Howell were not aware that he was sued in 2011 for sexual discrimination and retaliation while he was a senior executive at Booz Allen.
“I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish at the NFLPA over the past two years,” Howell said. “I will be rooting for the players from the sidelines as loud as ever, and I know the NFLPA will continue to ensure that players remain firmly at the center of football’s future.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
FILE - Fans watch an NFL football game between the Chicago Bears and the Detroit Lions, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Oct. 2, 2016. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
SYDNEY (AP) — Coco Gauff beat No. 2-ranked Iga Świątek 6-4, 6-2 to force a mixed-doubles match to decide the United Cup semifinal between the United States and Poland on Saturday.
Fourth-ranked Gauff, the French Open champion, evened the matchup at 1-1 at the team event after Hubert Hurkacz beat Taylor Fritz 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2) in the singles opener at Ken Rosewall Arena. It was Gauff's fourth straight victory over Świątek, the Wimbledon champion.
Gauff and teammate Christian Harrison will face Świątek and Hurkacz in mixed doubles. The winning team will face Switzerland in Sunday’s final.
The Swiss advanced when Belinda Bencic combined with Jakub Paul in the deciding mixed doubles to defeat Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Zizou Bergs 6-3, 0-6, 10-5.
Bencic has won all four of her singles matches and four in mixed doubles this week in the team event. Paul, who won just six tour-level doubles matches last year, hit several down-the-line winners at crucial moments to lead Switzerland into the final.
“He’s so brave it’s unbelievable,” Bencic said of Paul. “I tell him to go (for it) and he actually goes. It’s crazy."
Earlier, Bencic extended her undefeated season-opening singles streak when she beat Mertens 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (0) to put Switzerland ahead 1-0. But Stan Wawrinka, who will retire at the end of this season, was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3 by Bergs to send the match to a mixed doubles decider at Ken Rosewall Arena.
The turning point in the Wawrinka-Bergs match came in the eighth game of the third set when Bergs broke Wawrinka’s serve to go up 5-3, then held serve to win the match.
Tournament organizers started play 30 minutes earlier than scheduled with searing temperatures of up to 43 Celsius (109 Fahrenheit) in the forecast for Sydney.
Bencic had won all six sets in her first three matches at the United Cup. She was two games away from another two-set win before Mertens pushed the match the distance.
Then Mertens came from 3-1 down in the third set, saved a pair of break points that would have given Bencic a 4-1 lead, and was two points away from the set win with Bencic serving at 30-30, down 6-5.
But Bencic won the last nine points of the match following a decision to change her racket to a freshly-strung one, taking the match in 2 hours, 37 minutes.
“It feels like 170 kilos fell off my shoulders — I was so stressed; I really wanted to do well, and today I felt so much pressure to not let my team down,” Bencic said.
On the racket change, she said: “My brain turned off and let my instincts take over. I think it was just a feeling."
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Iga Swiatek of Poland hits a backhand to Coco Gauff of the U.S. during their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Iga Swiatek of Poland hits a forehand to Coco Gauff of the U.S. during their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. waits to return serve from Iga Swiatek of Poland during their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Coco Gauff of the U.S. hits a forehand to Iga Swiatek of Poland during their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Belinda Bencic, left, and Jakub Paul of Switzerland celebrate winning a point against Alise Mertens and Zizou Bergs of Belgium during their semifinal doubles match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Zizou Bergs of Belgium hits a backhand to Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland during their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Zizou Bergs of Belgium, right, Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland shake hands after Bergs won their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Belinda Bencic, second right, and Jakub Paul, right, of Switzerland shake hands with Alise Mertens, left, and Zizou Bergs of Belgium after Switzerland won their semifinal doubles match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Alise Mertens of Belgium looks up after a rally against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, left and Alise Mertens of Belgium meet at the net after Bencic won their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Belinda Bencic of Switzerland celebrates her win over Alise Mertens of Belgium in their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, second left, celebrates with teammates after her win over Alise Mertens of Belgium in their semifinal match at the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)
