Troy Vincent's Looked at NFL From Both Sides Now

Troy Vincent met with Tampa Bay players on Wednesday morning at the Buccaneers complex. On Wednesday night, he planned to visit with Detroit players at the Lions' facility.

Two cities, two teams, one day. A mouthful and an earful in his new role as the NFL's vice president of player development.

These are among the thoughts some of those players likely pondered during the exchange:

"Are you kidding? You used to work for us and now you work for them? Did you really collude with the NFL before you left us? Have you since gift-wrapped for them the keys to our kingdom during this critical labor time? Really now, friend or foe?"

It is a tricky sell for this five-time Pro-Bowl cornerback, this union man who spent more than a decade toiling for the Players' Association, including a four-year term as president that ended in March 2008. It is a winnable one, he says, because his uniform may have changed, but his target has not.

And that target is to encourage NFL players to remain engaged, to be accountable and ultimately see themselves as stakeholders in growing the business of football -- and not in the stereotypical ways they are often described, he said. To decrease their sense of entitlement and increase their awareness of the "lifetime transition of the emotional and physical" required for sustainability during and after their careers. To persuade them to uplift their NFL communities and hometowns. To become better individuals, teammates, fathers, husbands, sons.

"If you don't love them, you can't serve them," Vincent said. "These are men I dearly and truly love."

Give and Take

How much do they love him back?

It is a fair question.

Vincent could be at the center of a Department of Labor probe into allegations by a former NFLPA employee, Mary Moran. She is suing the union, insisting that she was wrongfully forced out of her job as director of human resources. She has also said in court documents that Vincent and other NFLPA members met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Houston Texans owner Robert McNair to allegedly provide the league access to confidential union information.

This story, and others questioning Vincent's private business practices and partners, surfaced during the NFLPA executive director elections in March 2009 in Maui when Vincent was a finalist for the job. They were stunning charges, especially since Vincent had won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in 2002 for tireless charity work and had been applauded not only in his hometown of Trenton, N.J., but also across America for his work with youths, families and communities.

NFL players selected lawyer DeMaurice Smith in that election. Vincent considered the charges slanderous then and now.

"This is not for me to speak on in detail now, but I do hope that some things will finally come out and become clear," Vincent said. "The suit is against the PA and I am referenced in it. I assume I will be questioned. I have not yet been. But I will say this: The first time I ever met Bob McNair was at the recent owners' meeting in March.

"All these things kept coming up during the election. I was scarred. Wow, all of a sudden, all the things I had done to try to serve players were being used against me. I was defending myself during that election process and was not able to focus on my platform. It was amazing that I even made it that far in the process. That was a test. It tested my faith, every ounce of it. I had to endure prosecution, more than I could have ever imagined. It became the rules of engagement. Part of the business. I needed to endure that so the Lord could trust me with greater. Because what I am trying to do now with players, and focusing on that, I love. Someone else's junk became someone else's treasure.''


And as far as being a linchpin for the league in the current labor talks?

"I don't talk labor specifics with the league," he said. "That would diminish my body of work with the PA. The league does ask me how can we better communicate? That is the question I get. I will not jeopardize my relationships. I wouldn't have taken the position if it was not to serve the players and be a part of the entire NFL family. I pray for the success of DeMaurice Smith. The decisions that he and Roger makes affect my future. I am still a retired NFL player.''

Imagine the NFL legally employing this type of resource and not using it, milking it in these troubling labor times. It does not seem plausible.

Plenty of people in the NFLPA don't buy it.

A current NFLPA player representative, requesting anonymity, said: "This definitely caught me off-guard. Troy was a big individual piece of us. My instincts tell me he was a strategic move by the league in the labor situation. I'm sure he was hurt by the election process. But he has to have a job and feed his family and make a livelihood. They got someone who knows the ins and outs of us, the decision-making, the blueprint. So, unfortunately for us, we have to live with Troy, who was vital to us, being vital to the league now. It's definitely tough to deal with.

"We elected D. Smith and empowered him to put his team together. Troy was not included. Troy had been with us at the bargaining table since the early '90s. He has expert knowledge. We all have to move on. Adjust. Adapt.''


Moving Forward

Vincent, 39, says he has.

Beyond his playing days, when he was a 1992 first-round draft pick (No. 7 overall) from Wisconsin by Miami. Beyond his NFL playing career with Philadelphia (1996-2003), Buffalo (2003-2006) and finally Washington (2006-2007). Beyond his 51 career interceptions.

Beyond his union bruises.

"I have the opportunity to serve these men without any of the things that can bind you," he said. "To help give them to the tools to navigate their NFL experience. I have the opportunity to serve the body. To be an ambassador for the National Football League and do it in concert with the Players Association. I am grateful for it. With the challenges we have ahead, it is going to take all of us. They will come to fully know that I am here to serve them. Some guys might feel my ties to the league make that unlikely. But those same guys I will have the chance to put into league programs, the chance to help.''

The league's annual rookie symposium is one nugget where Vincent has contributed since he began his new role last February. It begins on Sunday in Carlsbad, Calif., with more than 260 rookie players mandated to attend seminars, workshops and lectures on managing their new lives and careers.

Exposure. Mindset. Getting them engaged. Vincent has worked with the league to fashion this year's symposium with those ideas embedded.

"A real key is what is the right way to articulate that message to today's young players?" he asked. "How do you let them know what is important today that affects the rest of their lives? It's iPhone applications. It's video. They are a techy group. These players today, you can't just give them a 10-page document. You've got 10 seconds to capture their attention. No one wants to be a dream killer. But there are so many in the past they can learn from by just taking a piece of their garment.

"They have to understand that teams are investing in them. Clubs have to maximize that interest in them. That's the business side. You could play one year. You could play 15. But show up on time. Respect your coaches. Do the little things. Pay attention to detail. And remember that someone is making an investment in you. And that your actions affect players and people before you and the league and the brand. It doesn't always go just as you planned. The playing field is not the final destination. It's just a portion of the journey."

And to that, he says, he is a witness.