Kudos to the NFL Players Association for making an informed decision by selecting DeMaurice Smith as their new union head.  I don’t know anything about Mr. Smith, but according to the New York Times, Smith was chosen after union members reviewed the background checks of each of the candidates to replace the late Gene Upshaw.  The front-runner for the position was former NFL player, Troy Vincent.   According to the Times,  “Vincent was perceived as being the front-runner heading into the weekend meeting. But on Saturday night, player representatives received a two-hour briefing on the detailed background checks performed on each candidate by an outside security firm. That briefing, said the person who had been told about the meeting, might have damaged Vincent’s candidacy because it addressed his controversial business dealings. The person said the findings did not reflect well on Vincent, to the surprise of some of his colleagues.”

See NFL Union Selects Lawyer as New Leader