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Steve Ballmer addressed allegations of possible cap circumvention committed by the Los Angeles Clippers involving a Kawhi Leonard endorsement contract in a sit-down interview on Thursday with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Ballmer said Aspiration asked him to make an introduction to Leonard in November 2021, which was three months after the Clippers signed him to a four-year, $173 million extension. Aspiration agreed to a $300 million sponsorship partnership with the Clippers in September 2021.
“We were done. We were done with Kawhi, we were done with Aspiration. The deals were all locked and loaded,” Ballmer said. “Then, they did request to be introduced to Kawhi, and under the rules, we can introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We just can’t be involved.
“We made an introduction, that was in early November.”
Aspiration has since gone bankrupt with its co-foudner, Joe Sanberg, pleading 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 introduction. It was early November,” Ballmer said. “The introduction got made and then they were off to the races on, on their own. We weren’t involved.
“I eventually learned that they had reached a deal. I have no idea what the deal was.”
Ballmer was asked if he was surprised by the amount of Leonard’s endorsement deal or by the fact no services were formed by the All-Star for Aspiration.
“I don’t know why they did what they did, and I don’t know how different it is [compared with other endorsement deals],” said Leonard.
“These were guys who committed fraud. Look, they conned me. They conned me. I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up, and they conned me at this stage. I have no ability to predict why they might have done anything they did, let alone the specific contract with Kawhi.”
Asked why there have been so many allegations 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 speak much, I think there’s a lot of mystery around Kawhi.
“That may be why fans kind of tell themselves, [or] you know, create a narrative, if you will. I’ve had a great relationship with Kawhi. We sit down a couple times a year and just kind of talk about how the team’s doing.
“The allegations have not been true. But what’s most important to me is we’ve done the right thing in all those interactions. You know Kawhi’s business is Kawhi’s business. But we’ve always done the right thing.”
