WASHINGTON — In the wake of the damaging independent audit that slammed the executive director of the NBA’s players union, Billy Hunter, several players have called for change in the organization.
The latest is Jerry Stackhouse, who told The Post before Wednesday’s 93-90 win over the Pistons in Detroit that not only does Hunter — who has been suspended indefinitely with pay — have to go, but the way the union does business needs to be changed.
“It’s horrible,” Stackhouse said. “I think everything needs to be revamped.
“Obviously Hunter should be out. In my opinion, the executive committee should be out, and really take the time to do a real search for what direction our union [should take], and what formation that we should have, because obviously it’s flawed.”
Now in his 18th year in the league, Stackhouse has been through both of the league’s lockouts (in 1999 and last season) and has been in the league for Hunter’s entire tenure, which began back in 1996.
But after years of mismanagement, Stackhouse said he thinks it’s time for the union to make sweeping changes, including the removal of not only Hunter but NBPA president Derek Fisher, as well.
Stackhouse said he is going to Houston for next week’s All-Star weekend for no other reason than to speak his mind at the union meeting to make sure everyone knows how he feels.
“Strictly to voice my opinion about what needs to happen,” Stackhouse said. “I’ve said it before. … I went to the meeting in Dallas [at the 2010 All-Star Game]. [Hunter] and his cronies, [made it seem] like I didn’t [know] … like I was off-base, and Fisher was right there, too. So I’ve got no love for either of them. They’ve all got to go.”
Stackhouse also will be going to Houston with a plan. In his view, the union needed to scrap its current system — which includes a nine-member executive committee along with 30 team representatives with alternates, and make it into a democratic system where everyone gets a say.
“The player reps should come back and get a vote out of the locker room every time,” he said. “If it’s the offseason and there’s an issue, it should be his responsibility to receive a text, and explain the situation to each player.
“This is our livelihood, and nothing should be more important either during the season or over the summer, that you shouldn’t take five minutes to listen to what’s happening and make a decision one way or the other, and let that be the consensus. Whatever we come out of this locker room, whether it’s yea or nay, take that.”