Steve Ballmer, former Microsoft CEO and owner of the LA Clippers, is now serving a year-long suspension from the NBA. The league has fined him $30 million and the Clippers are set to forfeit five future draft picks. This all came from an ESPN interview where Ballmer insisted the Clippers were not involved in a shady $28 million endorsement deal. The 35-page report, commissioned by the NBA, has called Ballmer’s claims ‘inaccurate’ and ‘clearly false’.

The allegations revolve around a ‘spend back’ agreement between the Clippers and Daktronics, the company that built the team’s massive 4K scoreboard. The report claims an unnamed Clippers executive directed Daktronics on how to pay Kawhi Leonard $3 million over two years. This deal was part of a scheme that inflated the Intuit Dome’s cost to over $2 billion, including the $100 million Halo Board. Aspiration, a green bank that Ballmer had invested in, was also involved, but it’s now in bankruptcy due to sham endorsement deals costing investors $248 million.

The saga has left Ballmer and the Clippers reeling. The team is writing angry letters to the NBA, claiming a biased investigation has cost them $50 million in legal fees. Meanwhile, the league’s report further exposes the complex web of business deals and misrepresentations that tied Leonard and various companies to the scandal. Ballmer’s missteps serve as a stark reminder that even in the high-stakes world of sports, truth can be elusive.