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<\/p>\nThe Clippers have strongly denied that any rules were broken and said they welcomed the league\u2019s investigation.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI think as a matter of fundamental fairness, I would be reluctant to act if there was a mere appearance of impropriety,\u201d Silver said. \u201cI think the goal of a full investigation is to find if there really was impropriety. \u2026 I would want anybody else in the situation that Mr. Ballmer is in now or Kawhi Leonard for that matter, to be treated the same way I would want to be treated if people were making allegations against me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ballmer made a $50 million investment in Aspiration, and the company and the team announced a $300 million partnership in September 2021. That was about a month after Leonard signed a four-year, $176 million extension with the Clippers.<\/p>\n
The team ended its relationship with Aspiration after two years, saying the contract was in default. Aspiration\u2019s co-founder, Joseph Sanberg, agreed to plead guilty last month after facing federal charges of wire fraud. Prosecutors said he defrauded investors and lenders out of $248 million, adding that \u201cAspiration\u2019s financial statements were inaccurate and reflected much higher revenue than the company in fact received.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a big believer in due process and fairness and you need to now let the investigation run its course,\u201d Silver said, adding that he has \u201cvery broad powers\u201d when determining penalties if wrongdoing was found.<\/p>\n
The league \u2014 which previously looked into claims that Leonard\u2019s representatives asked for certain things that would be considered cap circumventions when he was a free agent several years ago \u2014 can issue stiff penalties if cap rules are found to have been broken by a team, including a fine of up to $7.5 million, the voiding of contracts and the forfeiture of future draft picks.<\/p>\n
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