NFLPA attorney Heather McPhee retains counsel for potential whistleblower claim

Amid a federal investigation regarding the connection between OneTeam Partners and two major sports unions, a long-time in-house lawyer for the NFL Players Association has retained outside counsel in connection with a potential whistleblower claim.

Via Daniel Kaplan of AwfulAnnouncing.com, Heather McPhee has hired attorney Bill Pittard. He has experience in whistleblower lawsuits; he handled a whistleblower case against Booz Allen that resulted in a $377 million settlement.

Coincidentally (or not), NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell previously served as chief financial officer at Booz Allen.

On May 30, McPhee (who has worked for the union since 2009) sent a memo to the NFLPA executive committee regarding the fact that she had been contacted by federal investigators exploring OneTeam Partners and the NFLPA. Per Kaplan, McPhee wrote in the memo that she was ordered to stop working on anything related to the OneTeam Partners probe — "with the threat of employment discipline."

She also urged the executive committee to meet on the matter.

In situations like this, it's always interesting to know whether the whistleblower memo was prepared organically or strategically. It's possible that McPhee received specific advice from Pittard or some other lawyer on how to best position herself for a whistleblower claim.

That doesn't make it wrong; it potentially makes it brilliant. It's hard enough to prove employment-related claims without having the various i's dotted and t's crossed. If she's being pushed out for being legitimately concerned about the OneTeam Partners situation, she needs to best posture the record for eventual litigation.

The fact that this the memo was leaked to Kaplan likewise may not be accidental. McPhee and her lawyer know they possibly have a tiger by the tail. There potentially will be an effort to leverage a fair and appropriate resolution via a court of law and/or the court of public opinion.

Again, that doesn't make it wrong. It potentially makes it brilliant.