Mason, ex-NFL player Foxworth named NBPA execs

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Recently retired NBA veteran Roger Mason Jr. and former NFL Players Association president Domonique Foxworth are among several new appointments to the NBA Players Association senior management team.

Mason, who finished a 10-year NBA career this past season, was named the union's director of player relations. Foxworth, who spent seven seasons as an NFL cornerback with Denver, Atlanta and Baltimore from 2005-11, will begin duties as the NBAPA chief operating officer in January.

The union also hired ex-NBA player Walter Palmer as its new director of international relations and marketing and tabbed Washington-based attorney Gary Kohlman as general counsel.

"With these four hires the NBPA gets the benefit of a terrific mix of sports industry experience, business acumen, and legal expertise," said NBAPA executive director Michele Roberts. "When I was hired as Executive Director, I promised the players we would build a team of gladiators to represent their interests. There will be further additions to the NBPA senior management team, but we are beginning by putting a solid foundation in place."

Mason was an active participant in labor relations during his playing days, first serving as a team player representative before beginning his tenure on the executive committee in 2010. The 34-year-old was elected the NBAPA's First Vice President in 2013 and played a key role in constructing the present Collective Bargaining Agreement that ended the league's five-month lockout in 2011.

Foxworth became the youngest-ever vice president of the NFLPA's executive committee when tabbed to that position in 2008 at age 25. He was unanimously elected as the union's president four years later and held that role until this past March.

Palmer played one season each with the Utah Jazz (1990-91) and Dallas Mavericks (1992-93) before a long and successful career overseas. The Dartmouth alumnus currently heads the department for UNI Sport PRO, a global coalition of independent athletic associations representing athletes from over 60 countries in a dozen sports.