Steve Ballmer addressed allegations of attainable cap circumvention dedicated by the Los Angeles Clippers involving a Kawhi Leonard endorsement contract in a sit-down interview on Thursday with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Ballmer mentioned Aspiration requested 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 have been finished. We have been finished with Kawhi, we have been finished with Aspiration. The offers have been all locked and loaded,” Ballmer mentioned. “Then, they did request to be launched to Kawhi, and beneath the foundations, we will introduce our sponsors to our athletes. We simply cannot be concerned.
“We made an introduction, that was in early November.”
Aspiration has since gone bankrupt with its co-foudner, Joe Sanberg, pleading responsible to 2 counts of wire fraud for defrauding buyers and lenders of greater than $248 million.
“We even discovered the e-mail that makes the primary introduction. It was early November,” Ballmer mentioned. “The introduction acquired made after which they have been off to the races on, on their very own. We weren’t concerned.
“I ultimately realized that that they had reached a deal. I don’t know what the deal was.”
Ballmer was requested if he was stunned by the quantity of Leonard’s endorsement deal or by the actual fact no companies have been shaped by the All-Star for Aspiration.
“I do not know why they did what they did, and I do not know the way completely different it’s [compared with other endorsement deals],” mentioned Leonard.
“These have been guys who dedicated fraud. Look, they conned me. They conned me. I made an funding in these guys considering it was on the up-and-up, they usually conned me at this stage. I’ve no capacity to foretell why they may have finished something they did, not to mention the precise contract with Kawhi.”
Requested why there have been so many allegations about Leonard within the six years he has performed for the franchise, Ballmer mentioned, “I do not know. I feel as a result of he, comparatively would not communicate a lot, I feel there’s plenty of thriller round Kawhi.
“Which may be why followers form of inform themselves, [or] you understand, create a story, if you’ll. I’ve had an awesome relationship with Kawhi. We sit down a pair instances a 12 months and simply form of discuss how the crew’s doing.
“The allegations haven’t been true. However what’s most necessary to me is we have finished the appropriate factor in all these interactions. Kawhi’s enterprise is Kawhi’s enterprise. However we have all the time finished the appropriate factor.”
