As Chief Operating Officer for the MLBPA, Xavier D. James oversees organizational infrastructure, human resources, finance, information technology, budgeting and philanthropy, while providing support for the business department of the Association. He serves on the Board of Directors for the MLBPA affiliate companies One Team Partners, MLB Players, Inc., MLB Players Trust and Players Way, as well as the charitable youth scholarship organization, Children’s Scholarship Fund.

Prior to joining the Association, Xavier was Founder and President of The James Group, a company specializing in general contract negotiations, including business matters in the sports and entertainment industries. He has represented several professional athletes, including Gary Sheffield, Oscar De La Hoya, Ray Lewis, and Bernard Hopkins. He was also an equity partner and COO of Gary Sheffield’s company, Sheffield Management and Entertainment Group LLC, which represented various baseball players such as former All-Star relief pitcher Jason Grilli.

Xavier began his professional career as a corporate and securities lawyer in New York at the global law firm, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, and later served as in-house counsel for Viacom's publishing unit, Simon & Schuster, HBO (Senior Counsel, Original Programming and VP, Sports Programming), and MasterCard (SVP, Travel, Sports and Entertainment).

He holds a political science degree from New York University, a law degree from the New York University School of Law, and an MBA degree from NYU’s Stern School of Business. Xavier was an adjunct member of the sports business faculty at NYU’s Tisch Center from 2005-2013 and received the NYU Outstanding Faculty Service Award in 2013.