Stover Outlines Plan to Replace Upshaw as Union Chief

Baltimore Ravens kicker Matt Stover sent an e-mail in recent days to fellow player representatives in the NFL Players Association outlining a plan to select a new union executive director by next spring to replace Gene Upshaw.

Reached by telephone today, Stover confirmed that he sent the message but declined to comment on his reasons for doing so.

"I'm just going to respect the process of our leadership, our staffs and our committee and keep this private," Stover said. "There are a lot of reasons for that. You saw the e-mail, and I'll let it stand at that. (ellip) I'll take it through the channels I want to take it through."

Stover also issued a written statement through a Ravens official in which he said: "It was certainly not my intention for my private e-mail to a select group to become public."

Stover's e-mail was first was reported earlier today by ESPN. In it, he refers to a conference call last week and writes that he was not the only player representative on it who "felt that it is time for a change." He wrote that the players' executive committee should form a subcommittee to interview candidates and select a new executive director in March 2009.

Upshaw's contract runs through 2010, and he has given no indication that he plans to step down before the upcoming set of labor negotiations with the sport's franchise owners are completed. Upshaw has said he expects the owners to exercise a reopener clause in the current labor deal by November, setting the stage for a possible work stoppage in 2011.

By Mark Maske |  April 8, 2008; 2:39 PM ET  | Category:  League , Ravens
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