Reports: NBPA Pushing for Derek Fisher’s Resignation

According to both Yahoo! Sports and SI, the infighting between Billy Hunter and Derek Fisher has led to a serious push within the NBPA for Fisher to step down from his post. Despite the votes from the NBPA’s executive committee, Derek is reportedly refusing to budge: “Fisher has flatly refused to step down and has been working to gather a coalition of players to challenge Hunter’s business and financial practices, sources said. Fisher has told peers he will not resign, but rather fight Hunter for further transparency regarding the NBPA. This showdown has been building for months and escalated in the past week when Fisher initially convinced the executive committee to vote for an independent auditor to look into Hunter’s regime. Nevertheless, Hunter helped to convince the eight members of the committee to change course and turn on Fisher. Hunter has been unpopular with many players and agents for his lockout strategies, which led to unprecedented givebacks in last summer’s labor battle with the league. Hunter had his legal team send a brief memo to players Tuesday night, telling them the audit – that had initially been voted upon Friday – had been cancelled. ‘The executive committee recognized that the review was unnecessary since there had been a recent independent audit of the NBPA’s finances which raised no issues,’ the memo said. Mistrust grew between Hunter and Fisher during the lockout, with players choosing sides between the two. A person with knowledge of the dispute said that Hunter convinced the executive committee – which includes, among other players, Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, Washington Wizards guards Maurice Evans and Roger Mason, Boston Celtics guard Keyon Dooling and San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner – that Fisher’s push for an audit had no merit, and that it was inspired by personal animus. […] The executive committee’s unexpected backing of Hunter this week and their reluctance to conduct the business review has only led to more questions of Fisher and his supporters. While Fisher has two more seasons left on his term as NBPA president, Hunter — a former U.S. attorney and pro football player who joined the union in 1996 — has a contract that runs through 2016.”