Billy Hunter, the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association since 1996, has been placed on indefinite leave and appears to be on his way out permanently.
The decision, which was announced by NBPA president Derek Fisher in a statement on Friday morning, comes in the wake of an internal investigation [1]that called Hunter’s business practices into question following the NBA lockout in 2012. NBPA attorney Ron Klempner has been placed in Hunter’s position on an interim basis “until further decisions can be made,” according to the statement.
“Unfortunately, it appears that Union management has lost sight of the NBPA’s only task, to serve the best interests of their membership,” Fisher, who currently does not play for an NBA team, said in the statement. “This is the reason I called for a review almost a year ago. The findings of that review confirm this unfortunate truth and we must now move forward as players.
“Immediate change is necessary and I, along with the Committee Members, are committed to driving the process as difficult as it may be. We ask for the cooperation, trust and patience of the players, their representatives and some of our hard working NBPA staff as we navigate through this situation. But rest assured that our goal is to do what is right for the players and we will emerge stronger than before.”
