Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have officially opened a criminal investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers, a bombshell development coming just one week after the NBA handed down one of its stiffest punishment packages ever to the team. This isn’t just a slap on the wrist from the league anymore; we’re talking about a full-blown criminal inquiry from the U.S. attorney’s office, as reported by The New York Times.
This federal probe is still in its earliest stages, but it’s already clear the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn means business. They’ve got a long history of digging into integrity issues across professional sports, so this isn’t their first rodeo. While the exact scope, targets, and potential crimes under examination are unclear right now, prosecutors have already issued at least one subpoena. What are they looking into? It seems a big focus is on a series of “secret endorsement deals” that Kawhi Leonard reportedly signed. They’re also scrutinizing whether team owner Steve Ballmer and other Clippers executives played a role in facilitating these deals to pay Leonard above the NBA’s salary cap. This isn’t just about a team bending rules, it’s about whether they broke the law.
The plot thickened when Daktronics CFO Howard Atkins dropped some major news on an earnings call with investors. Atkins confirmed that Daktronics had received inquiries not only from the NBA regarding their endorsement deal with Leonard, but also from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Yeah, the SEC! The company is fully cooperating with the federal probe, which Matt Sullivan of the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast brought to light. Atkins stated they “take these requests seriously and are cooperating,” adding they wouldn’t comment further out of respect for the process. This takes the Clippers’ alleged salary cap circumvention from a league issue to a corporate and criminal one, with Ballmer potentially right in the middle.
As of Thursday night, Kawhi Leonard is still on the Clippers’ roster. A trade that would send him back to the Raptors was agreed to earlier this offseason, but it’s been on hold since late June. Leonard himself was not suspended by the NBA, and his contract hasn’t been voided. But with federal prosecutors getting involved, and a criminal investigation underway, the stakes just went through the roof. The Brooklyn U.S. attorney’s office has a track record, like the 2007 case against an NBA referee who gambled on games he officiated. This saga is far from over, and everyone needs to keep a close eye on what federal investigators uncover next.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
Leave a Reply