A federal criminal investigation into dealings between the Los Angeles Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, and third-party vendors is officially underway, and honestly, can you even believe this is happening? The New York Times dropped the bombshell report that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched its own probe into allegations that the Clippers, team owner Steve Ballmer, and Leonard straight-up circumvented the league’s salary cap. We’re talking about third-party deals allegedly funneling tens of millions of dollars to the seven-time NBA All-Star. This isn’t just a league slap on the wrist anymore, folks.
The Feds Are Digging Deep, And This Could Get UGLY
According to The Times, the U.S. attorney’s Eastern District of New York office in Brooklyn is leading this federal inquiry. And let me tell you, this isn’t their first rodeo with high-profile sports cases. This is the same office that worked with the FBI on the infamous 2007 case against disgraced former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, who admitted to betting on games he officiated. They’ve also brought charges against multiple pro athletes in a wider illegal gambling probe, including former NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups and All-Star Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase. So yeah, these folks know how to investigate. The scope, the targets, the actual crimes being examined are still unclear, but prosecutors have already issued at least one subpoena. Sources told The Times that whether this probe will result in criminal charges is still up in the air, but the fact that it’s happening? That’s wild.
The NBA Already Hit Them Hard, And The Clippers Are Fighting Back
This federal probe news drops just eight days after the NBA released its own investigation’s findings. That league-led inquiry, conducted by an independent law firm, found a “pattern of misconduct and multiple significant rules violations” by the Clippers organization, who apparently are “a prior offender of the salary cap circumvention rules.” The NBA hit them with some of the most punitive discipline in league history. They stripped the Clippers of five first-round draft picks in consecutive years from 2029 to 2033. Five first-rounders! That’s a crippling blow to any franchise’s future. On top of that, Ballmer got fined $30 million and was suspended from all league and team activities for a year, with multiple Clippers executives also getting suspended. Leonard himself was fined $700,000, and his uncle and business partner, Dennis Robertson, is banned from NBA business dealings for five years. The Clippers and Ballmer are, naturally, vowing to fight the NBA’s findings, claiming a “gross injustice” and that the investigation was “heavily biased.” They’re saying what the league told them privately differs from what they announced publicly.
So, where do we go from here? The Clippers are promising to explore “every legal remedy” against the NBA’s discipline, but now with the federal government stepping in, the stakes are insanely high. Will criminal charges be filed? How much deeper does this rabbit hole go? This situation went from bad to potentially catastrophic for the Clippers, and we’re all just watching to see what happens next.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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