Lloyd Howell Jr. announced his resignation as Executive Director of the NFL Players Association on Thursday evening, citing that his "leadership has become a distraction to the important work the NFLPA advances every day." While the decision comes amid scrutiny regarding his role as a consultant for The Carlyle Group—a private equity firm approved to seek minority stakes in NFL franchises—ESPN has uncovered an underlying reason for Howell's resignation.
As reported by Don Van Natta Jr. and Kalyn Kahler on Friday, an outside investigator hired by the NFLPA received documents this past week showing Howell, "charged the union for two visits to strip clubs, including a $738.82 car service that took him from the airport to one of the clubs."
Additionally, Howell reportedly accompanied two union employees to Atlanta's Magic City strip club during the NFLPA Summit back in February. The outing reportedly included $2,426 in charges, with the expense report citing a "Player Engagement Event to support & grow our Union" as its purpose.
This isn't the first time Howell has been subject to questioning regarding expense reports submitted for strip club outings. According to the story, during his time working for Booz Allen Hamilton, Howell and an executive, "visited a Manhattan, New York, strip club [in 2015], where they racked up thousands of dollars for the night's entertainment." Howell's colleague sought reimbursement via an expense report. He was later fired, while Howell was reprimanded.
You can read ESPN's full story here.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Report: Strip Club Expenses Played Part in Lloyd Howell Jr. Resigning from NFLPA.
