Steve Ballmer got suspended by the NBA because of a podcast and a jumbotron corruption scandal

<figure> <img alt="" data-caption="INGLEWOOD, CA - JULY 19: A view of Halo Board inside the Intuit Dome, the Los Angeles Clippers new arena, during a press preview on July 19, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images" data-portal-copyright="Icon Sportswire via Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/09/gettyimages-2166198274.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> INGLEWOOD, CA - JULY 19: A view of Halo Board inside the Intuit Dome, the Los Angeles Clippers new arena, during a press preview on July 19, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Last September, Steve Ballmer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQsmM1EhTNw">insisted in an ESPN interview</a> that the Clippers weren't involved in a shady-looking $28 million endorsement deal for his star player, Kawhi Leonard, that involved no actual endorsing. Now, the former Microsoft CEO has been suspended by the NBA for a year, while the league says his team will forfeit five future draft picks and pay a $30 million fine, among other penalties. </p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">A year later, <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28598123-report-of-independent-investigators-concerning-the-la-clippers-and-kawhi-leonard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an NBA-commissioned 35-page report </a>by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen &amp; Katz is basically calling him a liar, saying those claims were "inaccurate (at best) with respect to Mr. Ballmer" and "clearly false" when it came to Clippers presi …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/989962/steve-ballmer-kawhi-leonard-pablo-torre-finds-out">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>