Saturday, October 25, 2025
Submit Press Release
Got Action
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • NCAA
    • NCAA Football
    • NCAA Basketball
    • NCAA Baseball
    • NCAA Sport
  • Baseball
  • NFL
  • NBA
  • NHL
  • MLB
  • Formula 1
  • MMA
  • Boxing
  • Tennis
  • Golf
  • Sports Picks
  • Home
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • NCAA
    • NCAA Football
    • NCAA Basketball
    • NCAA Baseball
    • NCAA Sport
  • Baseball
  • NFL
  • NBA
  • NHL
  • MLB
  • Formula 1
  • MMA
  • Boxing
  • Tennis
  • Golf
  • Sports Picks
Got Action
No Result
View All Result

What is Aspiration, the company behind the Kawhi Leonard deal?

September 13, 2025
in NBA
0 0
0
Home NBA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Shwetha SurendranSep 13, 2025, 09:14 AM ET

CloseShwetha Surendran is a reporter in ESPN’s investigative and enterprise unit.

LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and the team are under investigation by the NBA following a report that Kawhi Leonard allegedly accepted a $28 million endorsement from a company called Aspiration as a way to circumvent the league’s salary cap.

Ballmer, who had previously invested $50 million in Aspiration, has denied he had knowledge of the deal or that he directed the company to strike one.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

Here’s what we know about the now-defunct Aspiration at the center of the accusations.

What was Aspiration and who were its founders?

Harvard alumni Joe Sanberg, an entrepreneur, and Andrei Cherny, a lawyer who worked as a speechwriter for the Clinton administration, co-founded Aspiration Partners in 2013. The company’s mission was to provide “socially-conscious and sustainable banking services and investment products,” according to their archived website from 2019. Their slogan: “Do Well. Do Good.”

Sanberg served on Aspiration’s board of directors and held about 30% of its shares as of September 2021, according to court filings. He was also an early investor in start-ups including Blue Apron. Cherny was Aspiration’s chief executive officer for nearly a decade.

What was Aspiration’s business model?

Think of Aspiration as a digital bank, but environmentally conscious. According to its website, the company claimed to be unlike other banks because customer deposits would “never fund fossil fuel projects like pipelines, oil rigs and coalmines.”

The company’s products included savings accounts and debit cards with cash back from a select number of businesses who were “doing the right thing,” plus an option to plant a tree with every purchase roundup. The company also offered access to investment funds that are “100% fossil fuel free.”

Who were the big-name investors in Aspiration?

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show that Aspiration drew backers including Robert Downey Jr., Orlando Bloom, Leonardo DiCaprio, now-Milwaukee Bucks coach Doc Rivers and Cindy Crawford and her daughter, Kaia Gerber.

Their corporate partners included the likes of Meta, Microsoft and eventually the LA Clippers.

How are Ballmer, Leonard and the LA Clippers connected to Aspiration?

Last week, podcaster and journalist Pablo Torre reported, citing internal documents, that Ballmer invested $50 million in Aspiration through his personal LLC on Sept. 14, 2021. Ballmer, one of the richest owners in sports and a philanthropist, is known to contribute to climate initiatives.

Also in September 2021, the LA Clippers signed a $300 million deal with Aspiration, making the company the “first founding partner” of the Intuit Dome. The multiyear partnership included a “Planet Protection Fund,” which would allow fans to “offset their own carbon impact whenever they purchase a ticket to cheer on the Clippers,” according to a statement about the partnership at the time.

“Aspiration becoming our first Founding Partner supports the stake we are planting in the ground to make Intuit Dome the most sustainable arena in the world,” Ballmer said in the statement.

In an interview with ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne last week, Ballmer said Aspiration asked him to introduce it to Leonard, which he said happened in November 2021.

According to Torre’s report, Leonard agreed to a four-year, $28 million endorsement deal from Aspiration through his LLC KL2 Aspire in April 2022, nine months after he re-signed with the Clippers. An unnamed employee who purportedly worked for Aspiration told Torre that the payment to Leonard “was to circumvent the salary cap.”

This week Torre, citing more documents, reported that Clippers minority owner Dennis Wong also invested nearly $2 million in Aspiration through a personal LLC in 2022, nine days before Leonard was paid $1.75 million by the company.

According to a report in The Athletic on Friday, which cited legal documents, Ballmer invested an additional $10 million into Aspiration in March 2023 in a funding round that included other previous company investors.

How is the NBA reacting?

The NBA is investigating whether Ballmer and the Clippers violated league rules. Commissioner Adam Silver, speaking at his annual news conference at the conclusion of the league’s board of governors meetings in New York this week, said that the “burden is on the league” to prove wrongdoing and that the league needs to look “at the totality of the evidence” rather than just “mere appearance.”

“Just by the way those words read, I think as a matter of fundamental fairness, I would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety. … I think that the goal of a full investigation is to find out if there really was impropriety. Also, in a public-facing sport, the public at times reaches conclusions that later turn out to be completely false. I’d want anybody else in the situation 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.”

Sources told ESPN that while there will be a thorough investigation of the matter by New York-based law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, there is no set deadline to find a conclusion.

What happened to Aspiration?

Cherny, co-founder and CEO, departed the company in 2022. In a statement posted on his X account Friday, Cherny said Leonard’s contract was not a “no-show” deal and had “three pages of extensive obligations.” He said he signed the contract in 2022 following “numerous internal conversations about the various things Aspiration was planning to do with Leonard.”

“I can’t speak to what was done or not done after I left — or why,” Cherney said in the statement.

When contacted by ESPN Friday, Cherny said that he had no further comment beyond the statement.

Aspiration filed for bankruptcy in March, with a reported debt of $170 million. When it filed for bankruptcy, the company said it owed the Clippers $30 million, the most out of all its creditors. Aspiration said at the time it owed Leonard’s LLC $7 million.

Last month, Aspiration co-founder Sanberg pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. Federal prosecutors said Sanberg defrauded investors and lenders out of $248 million by fraudulently obtaining loans, falsifying bank and brokerage statements and concealing that he was the source of some revenue booked by the company.

Each of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Ballmer told ESPN he was “embarrassed” that he didn’t detect trouble in reviewing Aspiration’s financial statements and business plans.

“These were guys who committed fraud. Look, they conned me. They conned me,” he said. “I made an investment in these guys thinking it was on the up-and-up, and they conned me at this stage. I have no ability to predict why they might have done anything they did, let alone the specific contract with Kawhi.”



Source link

Tags: AspirationcompanydealKawhiLeonard
Previous Post

Man Utd ahead of Real Madrid to sign star demanding huge £14m+ a year wages

Next Post

Blackhawks sign G Spencer Knight to 3-year, $17.5M extension

Related Posts

Giannis’ 31-point, 20-rebound night leaves teammates in awe: ‘Best player in the world’
NBA

Giannis’ 31-point, 20-rebound night leaves teammates in awe: ‘Best player in the world’

October 25, 2025
2025-2026 NBA season expert picks for East, West, Finals champs
NBA

2025-2026 NBA season expert picks for East, West, Finals champs

October 25, 2025
Terry Rozier To Receive Full Salary On Leave Pending NBA Gambling Investigation
NBA

Terry Rozier To Receive Full Salary On Leave Pending NBA Gambling Investigation

October 25, 2025
Raptors’ Collin Murray-Boyles out for home-opener vs. Bucks, Ja’Kobe Walter in
NBA

Raptors’ Collin Murray-Boyles out for home-opener vs. Bucks, Ja’Kobe Walter in

October 24, 2025
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown says NBA hasn’t prepared players for current gambling climate
NBA

Celtics’ Jaylen Brown says NBA hasn’t prepared players for current gambling climate

October 24, 2025
Source: Bettors allegedly got injury info on LeBron James
NBA

Source: Bettors allegedly got injury info on LeBron James

October 24, 2025
Next Post
Blackhawks sign G Spencer Knight to 3-year, .5M extension

Blackhawks sign G Spencer Knight to 3-year, $17.5M extension

Martin Garrix to headline Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix finale in 2026

Martin Garrix to headline Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix finale in 2026

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
How to Buy COTA Tickets – 2025 United States Grand Prix

How to Buy COTA Tickets – 2025 United States Grand Prix

March 12, 2025
Lee Trevino says this is crucial for solid contact on pitch shots

Lee Trevino says this is crucial for solid contact on pitch shots

August 26, 2025
Another listless, flat tire of a performance – Dodgers Digest

Another listless, flat tire of a performance – Dodgers Digest

August 21, 2025
Is Texas making the right call with reported coaching change?

Is Texas making the right call with reported coaching change?

March 24, 2025
Arthur Jones, who won a Super Bowl with the Ravens, dies at 39

Arthur Jones, who won a Super Bowl with the Ravens, dies at 39

October 4, 2025
Prime Video Welcomes Hall-Of-Famer Swin Cash, Former NBA Stars Rudy Gay and Jim Jackson to NBA on Prime Team

Prime Video Welcomes Hall-Of-Famer Swin Cash, Former NBA Stars Rudy Gay and Jim Jackson to NBA on Prime Team

September 25, 2025
Anthony Davis could return to Mavericks’ lineup during upcoming Eastern road trip: Report

Anthony Davis could return to Mavericks’ lineup during upcoming Eastern road trip: Report

487
Avious Griffin Highlights Boxing Insider Promotion’s Card By Stopping Jose Luis Sanchez In 9.

Avious Griffin Highlights Boxing Insider Promotion’s Card By Stopping Jose Luis Sanchez In 9.

42
Getting with the programme | Arseblog … an Arsenal blog

Getting with the programme | Arseblog … an Arsenal blog

6
Week of the wonderkids: teenagers light up the Champions League

Week of the wonderkids: teenagers light up the Champions League

0
Virginia vs. UNC: Tar Heels lose as 2-point conversion comes up inches short in OT

Virginia vs. UNC: Tar Heels lose as 2-point conversion comes up inches short in OT

0
Catch up on FP3 from Mexico as Lando Norris tops the timesheets

Catch up on FP3 from Mexico as Lando Norris tops the timesheets

0
Catch up on FP3 from Mexico as Lando Norris tops the timesheets

Catch up on FP3 from Mexico as Lando Norris tops the timesheets

October 25, 2025
Virginia vs. UNC: Tar Heels lose as 2-point conversion comes up inches short in OT

Virginia vs. UNC: Tar Heels lose as 2-point conversion comes up inches short in OT

October 25, 2025
Sources: Falcons highly likely to start Kirk Cousins vs. Dolphins

Sources: Falcons highly likely to start Kirk Cousins vs. Dolphins

October 25, 2025
Oregon’s Grateful Dead-themed threads lead top Week 9 college football uniforms

Oregon’s Grateful Dead-themed threads lead top Week 9 college football uniforms

October 25, 2025
Rempe, Reaves trade haymakers early in Sharks’ overtime win

Rempe, Reaves trade haymakers early in Sharks’ overtime win

October 25, 2025
Bencic Will Face Noskova for Tokyo Title – Tennis Now

Bencic Will Face Noskova for Tokyo Title – Tennis Now

October 25, 2025
Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn TikTok Pinterest
Got Action

Stay updated with the latest sports news, highlights, and expert analysis at Got Action. From football to basketball, we cover all your favorite sports. Get your daily dose of action now!

CATEGORIES

  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Boxing
  • Football
  • Formula 1
  • Golf
  • MLB
  • MMA
  • NBA
  • NCAA Baseball
  • NCAA Basketball
  • NCAA Football
  • NCAA Sport
  • NFL
  • NHL
  • Tennis
  • Uncategorized

SITEMAP

  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Submit Press Release
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Cookie Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us

Copyright © 2025 Got Action.
Got Action is not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Football
  • Basketball
  • NCAA
    • NCAA Football
    • NCAA Basketball
    • NCAA Baseball
    • NCAA Sport
  • Baseball
  • NFL
  • NBA
  • NHL
  • MLB
  • Formula 1
  • MMA
  • Boxing
  • Tennis
  • Golf
  • Sports Picks
Submit Press Release

Copyright © 2025 Got Action.
Got Action is not responsible for the content of external sites.