UNION NEWS

Headquarters Renamed in Honor of Upshaw

BY MELANIE KAPLAN

As Hall of Famer Art Shell stood before the hundreds of guests gathered in front of the NFL Players Association headquarters on September 26, he marveled at the sight of those who had assembled to witness the dedication of the building in honor of his friend, the late Gene Upshaw.

What a great day. This is such a great day to honor the name, the legacy and the achievements of the great Gene Upshaw, Shell said. Shell went on to describe the many achievements Gene accomplished as the unions leader and noted the fact that Upshaw would have been humbled by this special recognition and the outpouring of support. If he were here, you know what he would say? said Shell, in front of an audience of Upshaws family members, friends and former colleagues. Art, what are they doing? I dont need this. Well, my friend, whether you want it or not, you have earned this honor and youve got it. The culmination of the event, which was attended by Upshaws widow Terri and

their sons Justin and Daniel, featured the unveiling of the new building name, 63 Upshaw Place @ 1133 20th Street, in honor of Upshaws 25 years of service as Executive Director of the union. During his tenure, Upshaw negotiated collective bargaining agreements that ultimately led to free agency, higher salaries, revenue sharing and other signicant player benets. He served as the union leader until succumbing to pancreatic cancer in August 2008. Gene Upshaw is inextricably tied to our past, NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith said. For 25 years, Gene Upshaw continued to write in a ledger, a history penned by those who wrote in the same ledger before him His ledger is our future.

Smith explained to guests in attendance that the buildings new name represented Upshaws legacy. Today we resolve in this dedication that as we work in this building, as our players come back to this building, as our men who played this game yesterday and will play this game tomorrow come to this building, we will take our history, we will learn its lessons, we will honor our heroes and we will continue to write our legacy for those who, with honor and pride, will come after us, Smith said. Several exterior alterations were made to the building, including a 63 Upshaw Place sign and a GU sidewalk medallion, both positioned at the buildings entrance. In addition, two large bronze sculpturesone of Gene as a player and one of him as a union leaderstand mirroring each other on

to MLK Memorial
BY GLENDALYN JUNIO

At the Congressional Black Caucus Leadership Awards Luncheon held in Washington, D.C., in September, NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith announced a donation of $1 million on behalf of the NFLPA in support of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. Today it is our pleasure, our honor, to do everything we can as players of the National Football League, Smith said. It is my pleasure to present to the foundation a check for $1 million.
DEMAURICE SMITH DONATES $1 MILLION ON BEHALF OF THE NFLPA

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UNION NEWS

CLARK GAINES PRESENTS THE UPSHAW FAMILY WITH A COMMEMORATIVE GIFT

Gene was both an extraordinary leader and the ultimate team player.
Paul Tagliabue
Former NFL Commissioner

location at 1133 20th Street, the building will serve as a lasting tribute to a man who spent the majority of his life working on behalf of NFL players. I know that this building is Genes version of a home for the players and for the staff, and that they can come together and can accomplish all the things necessary and needed for this organization, Gaines said. So I know that today Gene is looking down on us with tremendous pride.

the walls of the lobby, and a six-screen video wall was installed. Former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue described the union headquarters as a locker room for Upshaws team. [It was] his Players Association team, Tagliabue said. Its where he learned. Its where he built consensus, polished his game plan, called his signals, communicated wisely. Gene was both an extraordinary leader and the ultimate team player. NFLPA Assistant Executive Director Clark Gaines, a close friend and colleague of Upshaws, spoke about how the buildings new name represented the organizations link to a man who will forever be known for his indelible mark on the game of football. Gene once told me that an organization without history is basically a person without a soul. And thats why its important to me to know that Gene will live on in the annals of history of this organization, and that this organization will be better for it, Gaines said. According to Gaines, the NFLPAs headquarters was housed in various locations throughout its history. Now, in its current

DANIEL, TERRI & JUSTIN UPSHAW

Several members of Congress were in attendance as Smith presented the check, including: House Majority Whip James Clyburn, Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee, Representative Patrick Kennedy and Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee. Kennedy, a Memorial Foundation board member, accepted one of the Defender of Democracy Awards of behalf of his late father, Senator Edward M. Kennedy. The memorial will honor Dr. Kings national and international contributions to world peace through nonviolent social change. It will be built on a four-acre site along the Tidal Basin, adjacent to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and in a direct line between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. The centerpiece of the memorial will be a towering stone sculpture of Dr. King, called the Stone of Hope.

I am thankful to the NFL Players Association for joining our family of donors to help build this important memorial honoring Dr. King, said Memorial Foundation President and CEO, Harry Johnson. The unions donation brings the foundations fundraising total to $107 million out of the $120 million needed. Visit www.buildthedream.org for more information on the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc., or to make a donation.

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