Derek Fisher got to send the memo to the NBA players union announcing Executive Director Billy Hunter's indefinite leave of absence from his position.
Yahoo! Sports reported today on Fisher's statement to his fellow league players.
"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."
The next sentence was the key knife in Hunter's gut penned by Fisher:
"Unfortunately, it appears that Union management has lost sight of the NBPA’s only task, to serve the best interests of their membership."
It's been one long year for Fisher as both a player and a union president.
His trade at the deadline last February from the L.A. Lakers sent him on a journey from the Rockets to a free agent signing with the OKC Thunder, and an appearance in the NBA Finals.
No one picked him up prior to the beginning of this current season, but he signed for a brief time with the Dallas Mavs, only to end that assignment in less than one month.
It was his union duties that made even more of a splash when in April 2012 he called for an investigation into Billy Hunter's decisions to hire family members and place union business with entities that employed his children
The tug of war began between Hunter and Fisher during the NBA owners lockout of the union, that held up the beginning of the 2011-12 season for two months.
Read: Derek Fisher vs. Billy Hunter subject of a subpoena
Then it became a struggle over who would survive. Both did for the time being, but there was enough interest in Hunter's activities that both an internal probe and one conducted by the federal government ensued.
There have been no findings of illegality but the internal probe determined that Hunter's new employment agreement, that paid him $3 million a year was never approved by the union's team player reps.
Not only had it not been approved as required under the union's founding documents, they were unaware that it was given the green light by the executive committee of the NBPA.
ESPN reported that only two days ago, Hunter made an effort to stave off separation from his position with the union, by terminating two family members. It didn't produce the desired effect.
Taking over during the leave of absence will be the union's current general counsel Ron Klempner. He along with President Fisher will lead the way to a reorganization of the union.
Comments