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DeMaurice Smith re-elected by NFLPA as Executive Director

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After all the hype and discussion, the vote wasn’t even close.

Choosing to keep things the way they are — NFL player representatives voted to retain DeMaurice Smith as executive director of the union.

In voting Sunday by the player reps, it took just one ballot for Smith to gain his third three-year term in charge of the NFL Players Association.

He beat eight other candidates — securing a majority of the votes at the union’s annual meeting in Kapalua, Hawaii.

Smith won over former NFL players Jason Belser, Sean Gilbert and Robert Griffith. Also on the ballot were James Acho, Arthur McAfee, Rob London, Andrew Smith and John Stufflebeem.

“As a union, it is your duty to decide who should and will lead,” Smith told the board of player reps. Then, apparently referring to what at times became a nasty competition, he added:

“There will always be those who will sacrifice their dignity in a race to the bottom so that they can climb over others to get to the top. I will not join them, and no human should.”

Smith added he is “proud to represent the best athletes in the world,” and NFLPA President Eric Winston said of the result: “We look forward to continue working with DeMaurice Smith to make our union stronger.”

The vote totals were not announced by the union. Buffalo had no representative, so Smith needed 16 of 31 votes.

Smith beat three candidates, including current NFL football operations boss Troy Vincent, for the post in 2009. He ran unopposed in 2012.

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