The cat’s out of the bag! The LA Clippers wonderfully began their 2024-25 season campaign at their new 18,000-packed Intuit Dome facility. While they lost the season opener in a thrilling game, there was another usual sight in the arena. It was the injured Kawhi Leonard, who was quietly sitting on the LA bench in his casual clothes. Hours after this sight, however, the 2x NBA Champ’s former trainer dropped a lawsuit on the Clippers org, alleging their ill-treatment toward Leonard’s injuries.

Former Clippers trainer Randy Shelton, who also took care of The Klaw during his LA tenure, sued the franchise for ‘wrongful termination’ along with several other accusations. Importantly, the lawsuit also included “unsafe and illegal treatment” of Kawhi Leonard’s injuries, as per NBA insider Chris Haynes. Moreover, diving deep into the details of the 20-page legal notice unveiled several shocking allegations about Steve Ballmer’s management’s decisions regarding their star hooper’s injuries.

The report alleged that the team ‘forced’ Kawhi Leonard to play through injuries and didn’t provide adequate time to recover from his 2021 ACL injury, too. And also, the team made him play in the 2023 playoffs despite him sustaining a concussion.

Above all, there was a strong accusation where the report claimed that they removed the star forward from the lineup, who was playing with multiple injuries; after learning that, he tore his meniscus. But the front office lied to the media, calling it a sprain.

Moreover, the report also stated that the management terminated Randy Shelton after he complained about the franchise’s act of forcing the hooper to play more games, despite his swelling knee. As we almost come down to the end of the accusation list, it’s important to note that the Clippers haven’t agreed to any of this. So, it will still stay an accusation until it’s proven in the court of law.

Did the Clippers respond to Randy Shelton’s accusation involving Kawhi Leonard?

Of course, the LA Clippers‘ side immediately issued a statement, declining all the accusations. The LA side’s statement read, “Mr. Shelton’s claims were investigated and found to be without merit,” as per Chris Haynes.

Moreover, it also read, “We honored Mr. Shelton’s employment contract and paid him in full. This lawsuit is a belated attempt to shake down the Clippers based on accusations that Mr. Shelton should know are false.” 

Nevertheless, Randy Shelton didn’t seem to have backed down from exposing the multi-million dollar organization. One of Shelton’s attorneys, John David, informed Chris Haynes, via a statement suggesting the lawsuit could trigger a wake-up call to the Clippers.

It’s also important to note that Randy Shelton’s lawsuit had also added a strong accusation where he stated that the team was more focused on regular-season success and profit rather than Kawhi Leonard’s health.

In addition to that, John David, in his statement, said, “Players are not just dollar values, but are humans requiring proper – and not hastened – health and recovery treatment for the careers and lives afterwards.” 

On the other hand, Shams Charania’s injury report revealed that the team could miss Kawhi Leonard for an extended period with his knee inflammation. Weirdly, Steve Ballmer’s opening address to the fans and the attractive halo board did not project The Klaw’s name, which came across as a big surprise. This issue has really just begun and the star’s injury-riddled Clippers journey continues!