Billy Hunter Invested NBPA Money In Shaky Bank With Ties To Son, According To Report

I understand the desire for tidy resolution, for quick strikes and clean wounds. Derek Fisher, the agents on his side and the bulk of the NBA players’ union would like to excise longtime executive director Billy Hunter in the wake of a report charging him with something more gross than simple nepotism. An investigation has found that Hunter has used player dues to prop up a failing bank connected to his son, that he did not hold a proper vetting for the extension of his own massive contract and that nepotism plays a role in union hiring and contracting practices. The union also knows that he’s a persuasive man who doesn’t like to lose. I understand the desire to do this as quickly and quietly as possible. I liken it to Downton Abbey: there’s nothing less desirable than to bring further scandal on the house. Allowing Hunter to fight these charges and argue for his job would potentially bring more scandal to the union, especially at the very high-profile All-Star Weekend.

But this is simply not fair. Due process matters.

A week ago, NBPA executive director Billy Hunter was suspended indefinitely as a response to a 469-page audit that accused him of multiple instances of wrongdoing. For the first time, Hunter responded to those allegations. He sat down with The New York Times for 65 minutes on Wednesday.

The players meet on Feb. 16 during All-Star weekend, and Hunter could be fired that day. He is not going down without a fight and is being represented by Thomas R. Ashley, a criminal defense attorney.

Following a scathing report that criticized his business practices, NBPA executive director Billy Hunter fired both his daughter and daughter-in-law from the union.

Hunter penned a letter to the union’s special committee of players dated Jan. 23 that Robyn Hunter would be relieved of her duties on Jan. 25. Megan Inaba will remain at her job to help with All-Star festivities before being let go on Feb. 17. The union chief also stated that the NBPA would no longer be working with Prim Capital, the firm that employs his son Todd.

Agent Arn Tellem sent his clients a sternly worded letter calling for the removal of NBA Players’ Association president Billy Hunter, according to Howard Beck of the New York Times.

Tellem wrote that the players should act to remove Hunter, who has been in charge of the players’ union since 1996, a span that has included both lockouts, during which Tellem says Hunter was “tactically, strategically and logistically unprepared:”

The report, put together by an independent law firm, looked deep into the union’s finances and their business practices under Hunter. While the report did not find Hunter criminally liable, it pointed out numerous wrongdoings that could cost the union chief his job. These include, among other things, “questionable stewardship of union finances” and “a failure to properly manage conflicts of interest.” Hunter often created those conflicts of interest by hiring and doing business with family members.

The law firm also found that Hunter’s 2010 contract extension was never voted on by the 30 player representatives, a violation of the union’s constitution and bylaws. The report did not specifically suggest that Hunter should be relieved of his duties, but said there are legal grounds to do so because the $18 million contract was not properly approved. If this was to be done, the report says action should be taken quickly and a decision made by the All-Star break.

NBA Players Association is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, the union recently said in a statement. According to sources close to the situation speaking to Bloomberg under conditions of anonymity, union executive director Billy Hunter was served with a subpoena on Wednesday notifying him of the investigation.

The NBPA has reportedly appointed a six-member committee to oversee an internal inquiry that will include a financial audit. In the statement, the union emphasized that “the NBPA will cooperate fully with the government’s investigation.”

The article reveals a variety of somewhat shady - and, to be honest, damning - dealings by Hunter. The most egregious is probably Hunter’s alleged attempt to convince the NBPA to invest $7-to-9 million in a bank where his son, Todd, was on the board of directors and owned stock.

In addition, there’s the fact that the NBPA twice retained the legal services of law firms where his daughter, Alexis Hunter, worked. And then there’s the fact that an additional daugher, Robyn, and a daughter-in-law, Megan Ibana, have senior staff positions with the NBPA.

Spurring that drive is the belief that Hunter has hired employees based more on their bloodlines than their talent. Amick reports that Hunter’s daughter and daughter-in-law are both on the NBPA payroll, earning a combined $250,000 over the 2010-11 fiscal year, according to documents filed with the U.S. Department of Labor. The union also contracted with firms -- an investment firm and a law firm -- who employ Hunter’s son and another daughter.

Hunter has said that audits of the union have turned up no concerns in the past.

This dispute comes on the heels of a growing divide between Hunter and Fisher that began near the end of the NBA lockout. Following Fisher’s request for an audit, Hunter convinced the executive board that such measures were not necessary, and now, those board members have turned against Fisher. A union member told CBS Sports that Fisher has “lost the trust” of the players.

Both Hunter and Fisher have two years left on their contracts with the NBPA.

Fisher and Hunter have reportedly been at odds for quite awhile, but this week’s reports indicate things are getting ugly, according to a recent report from the sleuths over at Yahoo! Sports.

This story will be an interesting one to follow, for better or worse, considering both Fisher and Hunter have at least two years left on their current contracts with the NBPA.