Dealings between the Los Angeles Clippers, Kawhi Leonard and third-party vendors are now under federal criminal investigation.
The New York Times reported Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice has initiated its own investigation into the matter after an NBA probe determined that the Clippers, team owner Steve Ballmer and Leonard circumvented the league’s salary cap via third-party deals that funneled tens of millions of dollars to the seven-time NBA All-Star.
Per the Times, the federal probe is being led by the U.S. attorney’s Eastern District of New York office in Brooklyn, the same office that’s previously investigated several high-profile sports-related criminal matters.
That same office worked with the FBI in the 2007 case against disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who admitted to betting on games that he’d officiated. It’s also brought charges against multiple professional athletes in a wide-reaching probe into alleged illegal gambling, including former NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups and All-Star Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase.
Per the Times, the “inquiry’s scope, targets and the possible crimes being examined were unclear.” Prosecutors have issued at least one subpoena, according to the report. Sources told the Times that it’s unclear if the probe will result in criminal charges.
Steve Ballmer’s Clippers are now reportedly under federal investigation.
(Katelyn Mulcahy via Getty Images)
NBA probe resulted in punitive discipline for Clippers, Steve Ballmer
News of the federal probe breaks eight days after the NBA released the findings of its investigation that was conducted by independent law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz . Per the NBA, “the investigation found a pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations by the Clippers organization, a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules.”
The NBA responded with some of the most punitive discipline in league history. It stripped the Clippers of five first-round draft picks in consecutive years from 2029-33, a crippling measure for the franchise’s competitive prospects.
The NBA fined Ballmer $30 million and suspended him “from all league and team activities for one year” in addition to handing out suspensions to multiple Clippers executives. The league also fined Leonard $700,000 and banned his uncle and business partner Dennis Robertson from engaging in NBA business dealings for five years.
Via multiple statements, the Clippers and, by proxy, Ballmer have vowed to fight the NBA’s findings and to explore “every legal remedy to address this gross injustice.”
“We vehemently reject the NBA’s findings, which are the result of a heavily biased investigation seeking to justify a predetermined narrative rather than facts and evidence,” the Clippers wrote in response to the league’s findings that were announced on Sept. 2. “What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard Commissioner [Adam] Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure its fairness and accuracy.”
Leonard wrote the following in response to the league’s findings:
“Integrity and respect for this game are fundamental to who I am,” Leonard wrote on social media. “I accept full responsibility for lapses in judgment by people within my inner circle and regret the distraction this situation has caused the fans and my family.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined comment when asked by the Times about the federal probe, and the the Clippers and the NBA did not respond when asked for comment and confirmation that they’d received a subpoena, according to the report.
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