Steve Ballmer addressed allegations of doable 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 stated 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 completed. We have been completed with Kawhi, we have been completed with Aspiration. The offers have been all locked and loaded,” Ballmer stated. “Then, they did request to be launched to Kawhi, and below 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 traders and lenders of greater than $248 million.
“We even discovered the e-mail that makes the primary introduction. It was early November,” Ballmer stated. “The introduction obtained made after which they have been off to the races on, on their very own. We weren’t concerned.
“I ultimately discovered that they’d reached a deal. I do not know what the deal was.”
Ballmer was requested if he was shocked by the quantity of Leonard’s endorsement deal or by the very fact no providers have been shaped by the All-Star for Aspiration.
“I do not know why they did what they did, and I do not understand how completely different it’s [compared with other endorsement deals],” stated 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, and so they conned me at this stage. I’ve no capacity to foretell why they could have completed something they did, not to mention the particular contract with Kawhi.”
Requested why there have been so many allegations about Leonard within the six years he has performed for the franchise, Ballmer stated, “I do not know. I feel as a result of he, comparatively does not converse a lot, I feel there’s quite a lot of thriller round Kawhi.
“Which may be why followers type of inform themselves, [or] you understand, create a story, if you’ll. I’ve had a fantastic relationship with Kawhi. We sit down a pair occasions a yr and simply type of discuss how the staff’s doing.
“The allegations haven’t been true. However what’s most vital to me is we have completed the fitting factor in all these interactions. You recognize Kawhi’s enterprise is Kawhi’s enterprise. However we have all the time completed the fitting factor.”