The National Basketball Players Association has named Billy Hunter's replacement as executive director in D.C. attorney Michele Roberts, according to multiple media reports.
After a long day of meetings, a vote by the NBAPA executive committee members and team player representatives just after midnight on the east coast made it official. Roberts won by obtaining 32 votes.
Clippers All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who has led the NBAPA's executive committee since August, 2013, was among those responsible for recommending Roberts.
Roberts beat out Mavericks CEO Terdema Ussery and Dean Garfield, CEO of the Information Technology Industry Council. All three candidates made lengthy presentations to the collection of NBA player reps and executive committee members.
Roberts will be the first woman to lead a major sports union.
The vote comes 17 months after the previous executive director Hunter was removed by unanimous vote. Hunter served in the role from 1996 to 2013 and guided the players through three collective bargaining agreements, but was removed following questionable business practices.
Roberts, a trial lawyer and adjunct faculty member at Harvard Law School, was reportedly met with applause as she entered the boardroom following the announcement.
[SportsNetwork.com]
