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What Clippers’ Steve Ballmer is ’embarrassed’ by in Kawhi Leonard debacle
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- What Clippers’ Steve Ballmer is ’embarrassed’ by in Kawhi Leonard debacle
The post What Clippers' Steve Ballmer is 'embarrassed' by in Kawhi Leonard debacle appeared first on ClutchPoints .
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer doubled down on his denial that he knew about the illicit activities of a now-bankrupt environmental startup being linked to the team and star forward Kawhi Leonard .
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Former ESPN reporter Pablo Torre alleged that the Clippers tried to circumvent the salary cap by signing Leonard to a "no-show" endorsement deal worth $28 million with Aspiration. Ballmer invested $50 million in the said firm.
In an earlier statement, Ballmer's camp vehemently denied the accusation , stressing that he wasn't aware of Aspiration's questionable moves. He claimed that he acted on good faith with Aspiration, which also had a partnership with the Clippers worth $300 million to sponsor the Intuit Dome.
"After a long campaign of market manipulation, which defrauded not only Steve but numerous other investors and sports teams, Aspiration filed for bankruptcy. Its co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, recently pleaded guilty to a $243 million fraud," read the statement.
In an interview on ESPN on Thursday, the 69-year-old Ballmer acknowledged his mistake in investing in Aspiration.
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"Should I have sniffed it out?" said the Clippers boss. "Maybe I feel embarrassed and kind of silly that I didn't sniff it out. But I didn't. I made the investment, but a lot of smart investors didn't sniff it out either."
"It's also true that I made a bunch of bad business deals and investments in my life, and I made some good ones. This was fraud and a bad investment, and I'm embarrassed by that."
As of writing, Leonard has not issued a statement regarding the controversy.
It is shaping up to be another distraction for the six-time All-Star, who has struggled to shake off the injury bug over the years. Last season, he only played 37 games, averaging 21.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists.
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Ballmer added that he's frustrated that the issue has boiled over , saying it has affected the Clippers as a whole.
"(I want to) express, I guess, some of the anger I'm feeling about what's going on, and I also feel some sadness for our employees. I'm mad, but I'm also sad that they're going through this, as well as our staff and our fans," said the business tycoon.
Ballmer bought the Clippers for $2 billion in 2014.
Related: Clippers' Steve Ballmer interview draws 'fishy' take from Brian Windhorst
Related: Clippers' Steve Ballmer has not talked to Kawhi Leonard about allegations
