NBA Commissioner Adam Silver made it clear on Wednesday that the league’s responsibility is to prove any misconduct when investigating the LA Clippers, owner Steve Ballmer and star forward Kawhi Leonard.
“If we were to honor a team, owner, player or any constituent member, that would be a burden to the league,” Silver said in a press conference after the New York board meeting. “I think like any process that requires a basic sense of equity, the burden should be taken, and in essence, it’s the party that brings these allegations.”
The Clippers are under scrutiny after Leonard accepted $28 million from Affipation, a now-banked green banking company invested by Ballmer. An unnamed former volunteer employee told Podcaster Pablo Torre that the payment was “to circumvent the wage cap.”
Silver stressed that the league must evaluate “all the evidence” rather than just taking action.
“As far as these words are read, I think as a matter of basic fairness, I wouldn’t be willing to act if there is just misconduct,” Silver said. “I think the purpose of conducting a comprehensive investigation is to find out if there is really misconduct.”
The investigation was handled by New York law firms Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Silver confirmed that there was no fixed discovery deadline.
“I’ve been in the league for a long enough time in all the charges and allegations that I believe very much about due process and fairness and that we need to have the investigation going on in its course now,” he said.
Silver also noted that other owners are retaining judgment.
“At least what I said to me is a reservation of judgment,” he explained. “Think people realize that this is what you have for the alliance office. This is the commissioner you have – people who are independent of the team. On the one hand, I certainly work together for 30 governors, but I have an independent obligation to be the butler of the brand and the integrity of that alliance.”
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