NBA NEWS

NBPA hires Roberts as executive director

The Sports Xchange

July 28, 2014 at 11:23 pm.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports

More than a year after Billy Hunter was ousted, the National Basketball Players Association has a new executive director.

According to multiple media reports — and NBA commissioner Adam Silver — the NBPA elected Washington, D.C., trial lawyer Michele Roberts as the its new chief Monday night. She is the first woman to be the union’s executive director.

The profile on her law firm’s website lists Roberts as a 1977 Wesleyan University graduate who got her law degree from the University of California-Berkeley in 1980.

Roberts was a public defender before moving into private practice.

After word of Roberts’ election surfaced, Silver released a statement that read, “On behalf of the NBA, I would like to congratulate Michele Roberts on her appointment as the NBPA’s new Executive Director and look forward to working with her and the NBPA Executive Committee to ensure the continued health and growth of our game. The partnership between our players and teams is the backbone of the league, and we are eager to continue working with the Players Association to build this relationship. I also want to thank Ron Klempner for his service as interim Executive Director over the past 18 months.”

Hunter was fired in February 2013 after an independent audit questioned his business and hiring practices. The report accused him of nepotism and of abusing union resources for personal gain.

The next key date for the NBPA is 2017, when either the players or the league can opt out of the collective bargaining agreement to seek a revised deal.