From Jeffrey Epstein to the NFLPA

EPISODE 268: An open secret.

Ever since we dropped Part I of our serialized NFL/NFLPA investigation — we did not know it was a series back then, of course — there has been one consistent bit of feedback:

I am thus disturbed and proud to report that Part IV is about an actual cover-up by powerful people of a real-life pedophilia scandal.

And Jeffrey Epstein does, organically, come up.

In case you missed it: earlier this month, the NFLPA did not merely elect its new interim executive director, David White, who was the former national executive director of SAG-AFTRA.

The NFLPA denied two key issues with David White that I raised to Mike Florio in Part III, which otherwise decoded the active FBI investigation into the union and its multibillion-dollar relationship with OneTeam Partners.

The NFLPA issued those denials in the august pages of The Washington Post:

As you’ll see, Part IV will open with the story of what both of those entities got horribly wrong.

But it is worth noting, too, that hours after this episode dropped, ESPN’s Don Van Natta and Jeff Passan reported something very significant.

David White and the NFLPA had officially placed longtime attorney Heather McPhee — yet another character you’ll recall from Part III! — on leave.

It is no exaggeration to say that McPhee had done more than anyone, inside the building, to warn the NFLPA and its players about internal malfeasance and corruption, originally emanating from executive director Lloyd Howell, who has since resigned in a hail of strip-club receipts.

But I’ll deal with all of that in the inevitable Part V.

For now, this dramatically chaotic story leads me to a new character, who thankfully agreed to go on camera with us.

And one of the more chilling pieces of documentary evidence I’ve ever seen.

YOUTUBE SPOILER ALERT:

Sincerely,

Pablo