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Leagues and Governing Bodies

National Columnists Point To "Larger Problems" For NBAers Than Hunter-Fisher Feud

Although Thunder G and NBPA President Derek Fisher is pushing for a review of NBPA Exec Dir Billy Hunter and the union's business practices, it is the NBPA's lockout strategy that "should concern players the most," according to Dan Wetzel of YAHOO SPORTS. Wetzel wrote if Hunter is "showing favoritism to his kids, well, that may not be an ideal practice, but I think LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and the rest of the players will survive." Wetzel: "There are too many broke former players for the current ones not to realize they deserve and should demand the best from union leaders. ... They deserved to get their clocks cleaned in the lockout" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 4/26). FOX SPORTS' Jason Whitlock writes as the active NBAers "have become more wealthy, they’ve grown in their belief that their business acumen matches their athletic acumen and they should exercise more control over the union than the executive directors do." Whitlock: "While Hunter's nepotism might not have damaged the union’s bargaining against the owners, I find the practice grossly immature, embarrassingly greedy, indefensible and -- as the son of a former union leader -- sadly predictable." The Hunter-Fisher "feud is a symptom of a much larger problem for the NBA." Whitlock writes with "all due respect" to NBA Commissioner David Stern, the league "lacks viable leadership." Whitlock: "Stern, like Hunter, has stayed in power way too long" (FOXSPORTS.com, 4/27).

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