Steve Ballmer Requests NBA Investigation into Possible Fraud
The owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Steve Ballmer, has expressed his desire for the NBA to thoroughly investigate any possible salary cap violations by another team or owner. This statement comes after accusations made on a podcast by Pablo Torre.The NBA has announced that it will launch an investigation to determine if Ballmer and the Clippers violated league rules. This is because Kawhi Leonard accepted a $28 million sponsorship deal from Aspiration, a green banking company now in bankruptcy in which Ballmer had invested. Ballmer explained that Aspiration asked him to introduce the company to Leonard, but denied having knowledge of the sponsorship contract that was ultimately signed, or that he directed the company to do so. The presentation was held in November 2021, three months after the Clippers agreed to a four-year, $173 million contract extension with Leonard. The player had injured a knee ligament during the team’s first Western Conference Finals that same year, which prevented him from playing the following season.“I want the league to investigate and take it seriously,” Ballmer affirmed.
Steve Ballmer
Two months earlier, in September 2021, the Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with Aspiration, which included sponsorship at the team’s new stadium and on the jersey patch. Ballmer added that Aspiration had also requested the stadium naming rights, and even offered more than Intuit, which was ultimately selected.
“We were done. We were done with Kawhi, we were done with Aspiration. The deals were done,” Ballmer said. “Then, they requested to be introduced to Kawhi, and according to the rules, we can introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We just can’t be involved.”We gave a presentation, which was in early November. Ballmer added that he had been reviewing his interaction with the company as part of his and the team’s cooperation with a Department of Justice investigation into Aspiration. Last month, co-founder Joe Sanberg pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud for defrauding investors and lenders of more than $248 million.
“We even found the email that makes the first presentation. It was in early November,” Ballmer said. “The presentation was made and then they launched on their own account. We weren’t involved.” I finally learned that they had reached an agreement. I have no idea what the agreement was. When asked if he was surprised by the amount of the agreement or that, as Torre reported, Leonard essentially provided no service to the company, Ballmer replied: “I don’t know why they did what they did, and I don’t know how different it is [compared to other sponsorship agreements]. These were guys who committed fraud. Look, they scammed me. They scammed me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was legal, and they scammed me at this stage. I have no ability to predict why they might have done something they did, much less the specific contract with Kawhi. Ballmer said his initial investment in Aspiration of $50 million, which was part of a much larger capital raise that helped legitimize the company to investors, equated to less than 3% ownership. “I had no control over this company. I owned less than 3% of the company,” said Ballmer, one of the richest men in the United States. “I didn’t have a seat on the board. I had no control. Hell, it was a fraudulent company. It’s possible that nobody had any control.” When asked if he detected any signs of trouble with the company after reviewing its financial statements and business plans, Ballmer said he was “ashamed” not to have done so. “I reviewed, my staff reviewed primarily fraudulent financial statements,” he said. “Now, should I have sniffed it out? Maybe I feel ashamed and a little foolish for not having sniffed it out, but I didn’t.” These were guys who committed fraud. Look, they scammed me. They scammed me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was legal, and they scammed me at this stage. I have no ability to predict why they might have done something they did, much less the specific contract with Kawhi. Steve Ballmer on Aspiration, now bankrupt. “I made the investment. Many other smart investors didn’t smell it either.” This is the latest in a series of accusations about Leonard’s dealings with the Clippers. The NBA investigated the team after allegations that Leonard and his team, led by his uncle Dennis Robertson, made undue requests to teams during his free agency in the summer of 2019. Such requests, The Athletic reported at the time, included co-ownership of the team, access to a private plane, a house, and guaranteed off-court money for sponsorships. The league cleared the Clippers of any wrongdoing in the matter, but said it would reopen the investigation if new information emerged. The league also investigated the Clippers’ pursuit of Leonard in free agency after a lawsuit filed in December 2020 by Johnny Wilkes, who alleged he helped the team acquire Leonard in exchange for a $2.5 million payment from Clippers consultant Jerry West. The Clippers denied the allegations and the lawsuit was dismissed. The league issued no sanctions. When asked if Robertson had requested any additional benefit that did not comply with league rules, Ballmer said: “They know the rules. They, referring to Kawhi and his representatives, including his uncle. We know the rules. And if something is not clear, we remind ourselves what the rules are and make it absolutely clear that we are going to comply with those rules and they understand them too. And it is important that they comply, which they have done.” When asked why there have been so many accusations about Leonard in the six years he has played for the franchise, Ballmer said: “I don’t know. I think because he, relatively, doesn’t talk much, I think there’s a lot of mystery surrounding Kawhi. That may be the reason fans tell themselves, [or] you know, create a narrative, so to speak. I’ve had a great relationship with Kawhi. We sit down a couple of times a year and talk about how the team is doing. The accusations have not been true. But the most important thing for me is that we have done the right thing in all those interactions. You know, Kawhi’s business is Kawhi’s business. But we have always done the right thing.
