Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Cub outfielder Ian Happ reacts to MLBPA leader Tony Clark's resignation

Episode Date: February 18, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris listened and reacted to Cubs outfielder Ian Happ’s comments about MLB Players Association executive director Tony Clark’s resignation.

Rahimi Harrison Grody. The great Kevin Harlan. I just pulled through the Taco Bell Drive-thru, and I've got a couple of big, nasty Supreme Burritos right here waiting to beat. You know, the first thing they ask you now, are you using the app? No, I just want my burrito. I don't want to use an app.

Bring a lot of mild sauce because I'm going to squirt it all over the place. Put some hot sauce on my burrito, baby. Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's 10 a.m. To 2. Underscore. My first piece of advice and one that I'm going to is, you know, enjoy the season. Why does it sound like something good and a threat at the same time?

That's Tom Ricketts. This is Rahimi Harrison Brody on 104-3 The Score. Doesn't it? Like, your face says everything, Marshall. I think it's just a forewarning, like, enjoy this season because I can't tell you if the next season's going to happen at all. It reminds me of Billy Madison where he's holding the kid's face and he's like cherish it and he's grabbing his cheek and shaking it.

That's how I feel. Is that too extreme? Probably. That's my brain. I honestly think Tom Ricketts in the talk that he's had, not only in going out and spending the big money on Alex Bregman right now. You did do that, Tom. Not only in talking about how the trade deadline, I want to remind you, we are always flexible at the trade deadline. Salary cap be damned for this year, at least. You're willing to go over the CBT. I like it. I think all of that has to do with the fact that I don't think Tom Ricketts, if you put a lie detector on him, would be able to tell you,

without that thing going off. Hey, yeah, we're going to have baseball in 2027. Everything's going to be, I mean, Tom Ricketts it, honky dory. You are not the father. Look at me in the eyes and tell me there's going to be a baseball season next year. You can't. You can't do it. Can't.

Not the way things have been going. Which is why it's concerning that Tony Clark, amidst an investigation by the Eastern District of New York, And what do we just say in our last segment with Mike Florio? When stuff comes out in court, other things come out. Tony Clark is the head of the Players Association for Major League Baseball. There are multiple reports yesterday early that had broken during the morning show of Mullian Haw about him stepping down from his role. And then we find out it is amidst an investigation by the Eastern District of New York. And the reason I keep saying that is because they are a big, big deal.

regarding a whistleblower complaint and a charitable organization questioning where the, where the resources were going. That's unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg on this thing. And it's shocking to hear that the Players Association and leader would be stepping down the season before the CBA is up, which we know is at the end of the season. But then there's also the other side of this that we learned in the afternoon. and this was after our show, multiple reports saying that there was also an inappropriate relationship regarding his sister-in-law, which is, again, this is how it goes, right?

You're under investigation. You find out what you're under investigation for. If you're us observing, that's usually the first thing. And then you start finding out more details. That's why Mike Florio, for example, is so intent on finding out what's going on with the Brian Flores case. So needless to say, if I were in their union, the Players Association.

I would not be thrilled that you have to find a new executive director ahead of what is going to be expectedly a very contentious negotiation. Several people tweeted out, it's no longer the Players Association. It's the Players Association. Because when your leader's doing things like that, well, you're open to all types of criticism. Fair enough.

Now, look, this is a bad look. Let's start with that. This is a very bad look. It's also very bad timing. But the timing could be worse. If this happens in the middle of the summer or at the end of next season, it's a much different story. I think it's good that they got this done over with, find a new leader, keep it moving. Well, I think of it in terms of when the negotiation has to happen.

So for me, any time closer to the negotiation, which let's frankly understand is ongoing. but when the actual timing of all of this happens when the season ends, anytime closer to the end of the season is concerning. In the meantime, it's just Marshall and I talking. Yeah, I've been a member and am a member of SAGAFTRA, but that's a little bit different deal. You know, we've been called to authorized strikes when it came to other aspects of our jobs that were unrelated

to the broadcast side of it. This is completely different, but the process we understand a bit because of it. Now, Ian Hap used to be the player rep for the Cubs he was for many years. It's now Nico Horner. But he still understands how the process goes, having been through that and having understood a previous CBA. So he spoke on Markey Sports Network about how the players are handling the news that came down yesterday. Having been so involved with the union before, what do you feel like will be the key for you guys collectively staying together and not letting, you know, the league try and use this against you guys or just how do you stay together through something like this

yeah i think it's the bond of the fraternity but i think more importantly with this group of players we've been through a lot you know this group of players especially the guys who you know myself danesby brag like a lot of the guys that are in our position or or even you know the guys machado harper that have have seen four of three four of these things now is that um you know we've seen a ton. We've been through a lockout. We've been through 2020. And I think that keeps the players very informed and very aware. And so having gone through those experiences, I think will only

help us in this one. Battle tested? Your facial expressions are on point today. It's because here's why. I feel like before we play the sound, I know what they're going to say because it's very company lineish, very union lineish for them. It's very owner lineish for the owners. You could say they got a playbook.

They have a playbook. And they're sticking to the playbook. Which, by the way, is not as easy as it sounds. It's especially not easy when you're, the person leading your union just resigned under very bad conditions. You would call it duress. They are under duress. A federal investigation. The feds are watching. And when the feds are watching, usually they don't even think about pressing charges unless they already have you. 93% conviction rate. That is a high, that's a high conviction. May have changed recently, but that was always the reputational conviction rate. This ain't Barney Fife and them's, okay? Nothing is getting nipped in the bud.

Nothing. Well, actually, everything's getting nipped in the bud. That's the problem. Fair. I don't think these problems are going to get addressed swiftly any time soon. Exactly. So when I hear the players talk, I feel like I know what they're going to say. They genuinely say what I think they're going to say. And like, what else are they supposed to do in this situation?

Well, actually, this is a good. because last year, if you remember with the CBA and the negotiation, what happened? They all fell in line. A lot of it was surrounded by, and fell in line, I'm not saying that to be condescending. I'm saying like they picked stances and then they decided to all agree on them. Which is what a union is supposed to do. I don't want to be condescending about it because that is not how I feel. I do want to say, though, that that happened.

And then the bargaining chip of the international bonus pool money came into play. And that's when you started to see the fissures and the cracks. and the facade. And that's the frustrating part is don't, are you going to hold the line and what are the deal breaker negotiations for you? And I was a little disappointed when I saw how that went down because I wonder, like, did you give on some of the real issues that seem to be major until that became one of the bargaining chips? But that's the whole point of a negotiation. You know, that's how this goes. It's kind of like everybody asking the question, well, why is the soldier field renovation money from 2003, now part of the Bears

discussion, because they decided to ask for more money. So the state's like, okay, you want to ask for this? Well, then we're asking for this. And we're going to have to just deal with this. This is how it goes. It's an ebb and flow. Ian Hap was also asked about the timing when it came to these CBA talks coming up.

It sounds like you don't think it's late that he's doing this. You know, he's been under investigation. Should you have done it a month or two ago, or I guess it's better than doing it a month from now? Yeah, I think that's the, you know, We'll figure out when the details come out if that was the case. Right now, I don't have any information to speculate on whether either of those things should be true.

I will say this. It's a lot better timing than the NFL Players Association situation situation occurring. I'm not stepping down. Well, what about this conflict of interest? What about this conflict of interest? What about this one where you just flat out didn't do your job? That whole scathing report and finding on the NFL. Felside makes you wonder about everybody's role in any union agency, whatever.

It's like... Well, that's the conflict of interest here. You know, that's part of the Tony Clark discussion. Here's what I'm going to talk about here. The fact that we are trained through our education as part of our journalism to be skeptical and to ask questions and call power into question. These are basic tenets, right? And in all these situations that we're...

we're talking about, whether it's the NFL and now the MLBPA, it's, hey, maybe you just don't assume just because someone's in charge that they have all pure intentions. In fact, you should probably assume the opposite. Are you kidding? There's a lot of people who get triggered when you and I question authority, when in reality, at least for now, it is still very much your right. Limnings are going to limming. That's all I can say to that.

That specific thought you're saying. The people who are just want to believe rah, rah, pep rally for everybody. body, that's going to continue to exist. Our job is to cut through it and to make sure that we're critically looking at what's happening, why is it happening? Is there an ethical problem? As you said, are we looking at a conflict of interest? Because there's a whole lot of conflicts of interest that have been popping up lately. Who pays, who loses, who benefits. Our friend Ray Diaz is coming in now with some information. I like information. You know me, Lela, I'll never, ever, ever, ever. turned down the data. Yeah, and I think we've discussed this. So there's going to be an eight-player

subcommittee. That seems to be the latest news here. Several teams, including the Sanford, this is from Evendrelic and Ken Rosenthal. So this is courtesy of the athletic. In the aftermath of Tony Clark's shocking resignation as executive director of the MLBPA on Tuesday, the behind-the-scenes jockeying to name an interim successor quickly grew intense. Deputy Executive Director Bruce Meyer is perhaps the leading option to replace Clark. Now that we mentioned yesterday. Bruce is quoted in a lot of Evan's stories. So that would make sense. Some players and agents are lobbying for other candidates fearing rightly or wrongly that the influence of Scott Boris is pushing the union toward too hasty of a promotion of Meyer, a polarizing figure both within the union and the general player population.

With the collective bargaining agreement not expiring until December 1st, those players and agents believe there is time for more thorough search. So you're seeing here already, there are divided interest among players. And we've talked about the divided interest among the owners. You know, the owner of the pirates has a different plan than the owner of the Dodgers, for example. So this is interesting too because this means that if you've suspected that Scott Borris controls a bit of the market and might look out for him and his client's interests,

this gives you an indication that you are correct. And when we talk about him and his client's interest, just understand if they're Boris clients, they're at the top of the earning power chart. Well, and baseball shrinking middle class has been a growing issue. Stop me when you've heard that before. Just take out the word baseball. But that's why this is important to note. So there are other details in this story, as we're seeing.

Another union official general counsel Matt Nussbaum is also a possible candidate. so is Don Fier, who was the union's executive director from 1983 to 2009. Of course, he being made famous a bit in 1994 strike season. Yeah, because that's when I got shorted of seeing Frank Thomas break the home run record. I got shorted of seeing Tony Gwyn bat 400. I got shorted of a Montreal Expos World Series championship. And MLB decided to decline to govern their own rules because they needed people to save baseball. So there's also that.

It does have side effects and effects. that last for years. So this is more news and more information as we continue to track this. But never also forget the phrase, United We Stand and Divided we fall. That's real. So if they have concerns about having their interests heard among the haves and the have-nots among the players side,

we're also going to have to see how that plays out with this as well. It's real and maybe real lure for the players, but it's also real for the owners, because that's part of the problem with this whole idea of a CBA getting done, is that the owners they are divided as of right now. Which also just may mean time. All of this may mean it's going to take a lot of time to get everybody to agree to something where people feel like they've either given or gotten enough.

See if they need more time than the end of next March. Cherish it. I don't like being held hostage by this. I really don't. It's not fun. I feel like I'm already subscribed. driving to some theory that isn't necessarily the case. I feel like I'm being controlled in some way already, and I don't like it.

Like, you'd better prepare for this. I mean, I work in media. I prepare for a lot of things at all times, okay? You and I have worked across the damn country, for example. Like, can I not? Can I just enjoy this? You know what? I don't like, I don't like ridiculous court rulings.

I feel like we had a ridiculous court ruling recently that you apparently are in favor of. I am very much against. And it's affecting the fabric of how we eat our food. It's tearing us apart. We'll talk about it next.