A key allegation in the power struggle at between NBPA Executive Director Billy Hunter and President Derek Fisher was that Fisher had allegedly accused Hunter of nepotism. A Yahoo! Sports investigation by Adrian Wojnarowski and Rand Getlin reveals that Fisher's allegations hold water.
Billy Hunter Asked NBPA To Invest In Bank With Ties To His Son, According To Report
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.
Furthermore, the article highlights how well Hunter is compensated in comparison to other player union heads: Hunter made over $13 million from 2006-2011, while the rest of the 30-plus employee union earned a little under $16 million:
As NBA players lost $400 million in salary during last summer's lockout – and $3 billion over the course of the new 10-year collective bargaining agreement – Billy Hunter, his family and the entities that employed them made approximately $3,430,953 from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, according to labor filings.
Hunter insisted to the New York Times that nothing he did was illegal. That might be true - the NBPA doesn’t have a clause against nepotism - but it certainly seems as if he favored his family in seemingly unethical ways. If all of this is true, Hunter is in some trouble.
Really thorough reporting by Wojnarowski and Getlin - the Fisher-Hunter story appears to have more behind it than a simple clash between egos. The article details how then-union treasurer Pat Garrity brought up similar allegations to the ones Fisher has made in 2009 after discovering some of these details, and was promptly forced out of the player's union, much as the union is currently attempting to do with Fisher.
See More:
For more professional basketball news and notes, be sure to visit SB Nation's NBA page.