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The action was announced Friday by Derek Fisher, the union president, who made the move in conjunction with four other players on the union's interim executive committee. Hunter, 70, is under fire for questionable business practices and nepotism, which were documented exhaustively in a recently released audit. Those concerns are also the subject of a continuing investigation by the United States attorney's office in Manhattan and the federal Department of Labor.

Ron Klempner, the union's longtime deputy counsel, has been appointed interim executive director in Hunter's place.

"Unfortunately, it appears that union management has lost sight of the N.B.P.A.'s only task, to serve the best interests of their membership," Fisher said in a statement. "This is the reason I called for a review almost a year ago. The findings of that review confirm this unfortunate truth, and we must now move forward as players."

Fisher added, "Immediate change is necessary."

Barring a settlement in the next two weeks, Hunter's fate will probably be decided on Feb. 16, when the union holds its annual meeting at All-Star weekend. Players will hear from the law firm that conducted the audit, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and are then expected to vote on whether to retain Hunter.

The move to suspend Hunter came in tandem with the reformation of the executive committee, which had lapsed into near nonexistence, because a majority of the players on the nine-man committee either had their terms expire or were out of the league.

Fisher, who played briefly for the Dallas Mavericks this season, created the interim executive committee with the four other board members who are still in the league: Chris Paul, James Jones, Roger Mason and Matt Bonner. The decision to place Hunter on leave was unanimous, according to a union statement.

"We ask for the cooperation, trust and patience of the players, their representatives and some of our hard working N.B.P.A. staff as we navigate through this situation," Fisher said. "But rest assured that our goal is to do what is right for the players and we will emerge stronger than before."

The players are also retaining outside counsel to assist them "in moving the N.B.P.A. forward through All-Star weekend," the union's statement said. In the meantime, Fisher — who is not currently on an N.B.A. roster — plans to work from the union's offices in Harlem.

Hunter's suspension was greeted with immediate support by a number of players and agents, including the agent Arn Tellem, who earlier this week sent a letter urging his clients to fire Hunter.

"This is a necessary first step to enable the players to remedy this unfortunate situation," Tellem said Friday. "The players need a leader of integrity and strong moral character who will put the needs of the membership first and champion their cause."