Sport
Chris Paul elected president of NBA players union replacing Derek Fisher
Paul served as a vice president for the last four years, so he has intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the union, and the trouble that engulfed it recently.
“It was something I saw as a challenge, something I knew I would be able to handle,” Paul said. “It’s an unbelievable opportunity, a lot of responsibility comes with this position but I’m very fortunate to have an outstanding of committee guys. The past couple of days have been outstanding, the dialogue we’ve had as an executive committee also with the players that have come in town, it was amazing.”
The decision to appoint a new executive director to replace Hunter will come at a later date.
There are several issues that the league has been waiting to discuss with the union while they searched for new leadership, most notably the possible implementation of testing for human growth hormone (HGH).
Commissioner David Stern, who is retiring in February and handing the reins over to deputy commissioner Adam Silver, has said multiple times this summer that testing for HGH was a priority.
“Chris Paul is an All-Star player and person and we look forward to working with him,” Silver said in a statement.
Tolliver, who has long been one of the most devoted player representatives in the league, and Steve Blake were elected vice presidents, filling the executive committee positions vacated by Paul and Mason.
