Unable to secure an invitation to address NBA players directly, embattled union executive director Billy Hunter has released online his response to a report that criticized his leadership.
Hunter’s lawyers say his 2010 contract extension was valid and the leave of absence he’s been placed on is not. They say if ratification of his contract had been needed, it was president Derek Fisher’s responsibility to get it, not Hunter’s.
Hunter’s contract was a central part of the review conducted by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and released last month. The report urged players to discuss Hunter’s future this weekend and said they had ”powerful arguments” that the contract wouldn’t be legal if an attempt to remove Hunter led to litigation.
Hunter had hoped to attend the players’ meeting in Houston on Saturday during All-Star weekend, but he wasn’t invited.
”While we are terribly disappointed that the NBPA will not afford Mr. Hunter the opportunity to address the players directly, we stand ready to press his claims in the appropriate forum,” attorney Michael Carlinsky wrote in the rebuttal.
— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press
