Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo has launched a bizarre defense of Tony Clark, the former executive director of the MLB Players Association (MLBPA) who suddenly resigned over an alleged affair with his sister-in-law.
‘I don’t understand. This happens all the time. Why would that be considered inappropriate?’ Russo said in the wake of the bombshell news, which reportedly came after an internal MLBPA investigation led to the discovery of the improper relationship.
A one-time All-Star as a first baseman over 15 Major League seasons, Clark served as the union’s executive director for more than a decade.
His sister-in-law was hired by the MLBPA in 2023, according to ESPN. Her identity has not been revealed publicly but Clark and his wife, Frances, are reported to have a son together.
The scandal has sent shockwaves around baseball but Russo suggested he doesn’t understand all the fuss.
‘It was due to an inappropriate relationship with his sister-in-law, who is in her 50s – what’s so inappropriate about that?’ he said on his Mad Dog Sports Radio Show.
Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo launched a bizarre defense of former MLBPA boss Tony Clark
Clark and his wife Frances (right) have one son together and reportedly live in Arizona
‘I don’t understand. This happens all the time. Why would that be considered inappropriate?
He continued: ‘It’s his sister-in-law. Alright, so it’s his brother’s wife. I guess that’s inappropriate. Isn’t that a family matter more so than it’s a union matter?’
When it was pointed out that Clark was also alleged to have secured a MLBPA job for his sister in law, Russo responded: ‘He didn’t do anything criminally wrong. He did something stupid. He’s not going to jail.’
Clark’s decision to step down also came amid a federal investigation into the MLBPA’s youth baseball company, Players Way, according to an ESPN report in October.
Players Way allegedly spent $3.9 million despite holding few events, none of which are believed to have attracted large crowds. ESPN reported the spending to be closer to $10 million.
And Russo claimed: ‘To me, it reads more of a cover-up with the FBI… that’s the way I look at it. I might be dead wrong on it.
‘The FBI is investigating the union… I thought this was a little bit of a camouflage.’
One ex-Players Way official told ESPN that the company paid six-figure salaries to executives and consultants, many of whom were former MLB players with full-time jobs outside the union.
Best known as a player for his years in Detroit, Clark had served as union boss since 2013
A day after Clark’s resignation, the MLBPA named Bruce Meyer as interim executive director
Clark was specifically accused of self-dealing and abuse of power in an anonymous whistleblower complaint to the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn but denied those allegations at the time.
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York are also investigating the MLBPA’s business practices with OneTeam Partners, a multibillion-dollar group-licensing company partially owned by the union, according to ESPN.
A day after Clark’s resignation, the MLBPA named Bruce Meyer as interim executive director.
