My 2010 Former and Current Player Convention Summary

Brothers,

The convention this year was the best that I have ever attended. It was the first combined convention and I had the pleasure of being elected by the Former Players Board of Directors to attend the current player meetings. The current player representatives are a well educated and engaged group on the issues that they now face. The thoughtfulness in their resolutions and in their elections was great to see. The resolution to take the interest accumulated in the dues retention lockout fund and divert it to the Gene Upshaw Players Assistance Trust (PAT) fund was one great example of that (post lockout).

The biggest news was the passing of the resolution to amend the NFLPA constitution to read,

1. All references to retired players to be changed to Former Players.

2. The steering committee is not called the Former Players Board of Directors.

3. Two non-voting members of the Former Players Board of Directors will be added to the Current Players Executive Committee.

4. A second Former Players Board of Directors member will always attend the current players part of the convention.

5. An NFLPA Chapter President will always attend the current players part of the convention.

This is an historic event and allows the Former Players Leadership a seat at the table with the Current Players Leadership. This has never officially been written into the constitution and by doing so the current players have shown the commitment to the former players that we are all One Team.

Cornelius Bennett was elected to the Former Players Board of Directors to continue his leadership as well as returning second term members Eric McMillan and Jim McFarland. Cornelius Bennett was also elected Chairman of the Former Players Board of Directors.

Nationally the Chapter Presidents worked very hard on the above resolution with the leadership of the Board of Directors. More good news from the former player part of the convention was the passing of the resolution to strengthen the qualifications to be nominated for the Board of Directors. Again the Chapter Presidents like Dewey McClain from Atlanta, Karl Baldischwiler from Oklahoma and Isiah Robertson from Dallas led the effort and brought the proposal before the Board of Directors personally to prompt us for consideration. After much deliberation and some tweaking the resolution met the Board of Directors approval and was passed. The addition to the resolution was that two at large Board of Directors positions would be elected, one in 2011 and 2012, by a national ballot. This will go a long way towards including our dues paying members, who cannot attend the conventions, in the process.

Robert Smith (a past member of the Executive Committee with me), and Emmitt Smith gave great speeches in support of our cause. It was great to see Floyd Little Hall of Fame, and future Hall of Fame member Tim Brown (also a past member of the Executive Committee with me) in attendance. The former player group was over two hundred strong with participation from the wives as well in the general sessions.

There was much more but you get the idea of how truly special the event was. The convention will come back to the main land next year to allow for more participation from the body of former players.

We, the NFLPA Former and Current Players, are a strong unit, with an unshakable bond, that neither the owners nor other special interest groups, will ever break apart. We will continue to fight the good fight. That is my commitment to you all as a member of the Former Players Board of Directors. One Team, One Locker Room, One Voice, those words and meaning, have never been stronger.

Best regards,

Nolan Harrison III

NFLPA Former Players Board of Directors

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