Tamika Tremaglio to Succeed Michele Roberts as NBPA Executive Director
Tamika L. Tremaglio has been named the next executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, replacing Michele Roberts, who is retiring at the end of the year, the union announced late Wednesday.
“Tamika will be an excellent executive director for the NBPA,” Roberts said in a release. “I have spent considerable time working with her over the past several years and I know she cares deeply about the players and wants the best for them, just as I do. I’m looking forward to retirement, but take solace in knowing the NBPA is in extremely capable hands.”
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Tremaglio has been an adviser to the union since 2012 and will retire from her position as managing principal of Deloitte’s Greater Washington practice concurrent with her replacing Roberts.
She holds J.D. and MBA degrees and was at the table with the WNBA players in 2019 for the successful negotiation of their current collective bargaining agreement.
“I’ve worked with some of the brightest business and legal minds in the world,” Tremaglio said in a release. “I’ve broken barriers, challenged misperceptions, and much like the professional athletes I’ve supported over the years, I have defied the odds. I’m incredibly grateful and passionate about this opportunity to serve the players and positively contribute to the role that the NBPA will play in the future of basketball, both on and off the court.”
Roberts, 65, was named the first female head of a union in any North American sport in 2014, succeeding the deposed Billy Hunter in that position.
Under her guidance the union helped the NBA navigate the past two seasons heavily impacted by the coronavirus. The league was the first pro sport to stop play in response to the pandemic on March 11, 2020, when Utah’s Rudy Gobert became the first player to test positive for the virus.
“Tamika has been by our side for many years, advising us on the best practices and policies needed for our organization to operate more like a successful business,” said Portland guard CJ McCollum, the union’s president. “Given Michele’s strong leadership and guidance that have brought us to where we are today, we were looking for a next-generation leader, who has the skills, vision and credibility to pick up where Michele will leave off and to elevate our union to even greater heights.”
