Miami Heat superstar LeBron James had some pointed criticism regarding the NBPA, before ultimately deciding not to run for the union presidency. Jerry Stackhouse, an executive committee member of the players’ association, says LBJ doesn’t know all of the facts.
Per CBS Sports: “Calling LeBron James ‘misinformed’ about the state of the National Basketball Players Association, executive committee member Jerry Stackhouse said on Monday that the union ‘is in a good place’ and ‘moving in the right direction.’ … ‘He’s the best player in the game right now and we want the entire league to be involved,’ Stackhouse said in a phone interview while in New York on union and other business. ‘But he needs to be informed in speaking on our union business.’ […]
Stackhouse, one of seven executive committee members elected at All-Star weekend in Houston this past February — when longtime executive director Billy Hunter was ousted — said James’ comments felt like a ‘kick in the stomach.’ … ‘I don’t think he’s had any dialogue with anybody since the All-Star break, but it is what it is,’ Stackhouse said. ‘To make that statement about where we are as a union right now, he was misinformed.’ Stackhouse, 38, an 18-year veteran who does not have a contract for next season, said he does not plan to run for president when the NBPA convenes Aug. 21 in Las Vegas for its summer meeting.
The union’s first summer meeting since Hunter was ousted over concerns about nepotism and conflicts of interest also will include the announcement of the executive committee’s selection of a search firm to find Hunter’s replacement, Stackhouse said.
James is one of many players who will not be attending the crucial meeting due to other offseason obligations. Since the executive committee sent a memo to the union membership about the timing of the meeting to elect a new president and discuss how Hunter’s successor will be chosen, numerous players have scheduled conflicting informal team workouts and won’t be able to attend.
‘I would’ve liked [James] to come to the meeting next week and hear it and then voice his opinion,’ Stackhouse said. One of key criticisms of union governance in a January report on Hunter’s tenure by the Paul-Weiss law firm was a lack of involvement among the union membership. ‘It hasn’t been a priority,’ Stackhouse said. ‘We can’t wait until collective bargaining to get engaged in the business of basketball.'”
