Steve Ballmer suspended by NBA over sponsorship scandal

The National Basketball Association has handed down severe penalties following a comprehensive 35-page independent investigation report conducted by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The probe concluded that former Microsoft CEO and LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer was untruthful regarding his denials about a controversial $28 million endorsement deal given to star player Kawhi Leonard without requiring any actual promotional work.

Back in September of the previous year, Ballmer strongly insisted during an ESPN interview that the franchise had nothing to do with the dubious transaction. However, the newly released league findings state those remarks were deeply inaccurate. As a result, the NBA suspended Ballmer for one year, penalized the Clippers with a $30 million fine, and stripped the organization of five future draft picks. Clippers business operations president Gillian Zucker also received a one-year suspension.

Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event

Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard agreed to accept his punishment, which includes a $700,000 fine along with a ban prohibiting his business manager from league activities. The entire controversy traces its roots back to investigative reporting by Pablo Torre Finds Out, a podcast that launched a year-long scrutiny into how corporate partners like Daktronics allegedly funneled extra money to Leonard outside of strict NBA salary cap regulations.

According to investigators, scoreboard manufacturer Daktronics competed in early 2020 for a lucrative contract to supply digital signage for the team's newly constructed Intuit Dome. The franchise informed Daktronics that they were the preferred vendor on the condition that they establish a 'spend back' arrangement through an endorsement contract with Leonard. An unnamed team executive allegedly directed Daktronics on the exact payout figures, which scaled upward as the arena construction costs ballooned past $2 billion.