NBA insider Chris Haynes reported that a former trainer with the Los Angeles Clippers is suing the team for wrongful termination.
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In his lawsuit, former strength and conditioning coach Randy Shelton claims that the team let him go after raising concerns over the "unsafe and illegal treatments" that star player Kawhi Leonard was being subjected to.
Shelton claims that the team was far more concerned with Leonard's productivity and having him on the court than his overall recovery process. Leonard underwent surgery after suffering a torn ACL in the 2021 Playoffs and the team was told that the timeline for his recovery was 730 days.
"Simply put, this recovery timetable was unacceptable to the Clippers," the lawsuit claims.
After sitting out for a season, the Clippers reportedly established a plan to limit Kawhi's minutes and keep him from playing back-to-back games. Yet once the season began, Shelton claims that Leonard "was required to play significant minutes" and began to complain about swelling and inflammation in his knee after the first two games.
The complaint goes on to claim that Leonard had a concussion that was not adequately addressed, and that his workload increased, including playing in back-to-back games near the close of the season. Additionally, the Clippers allegedly classified a torn meniscus injury in Leonard's right knee as a sprain, despite MRI's revealing the rupture and extensive cartilage damage.
"We hope that our client's lawsuit will serve as a wakeup call to the Clippers organization that their players are not just dollar values, but are humans requiring proper - and not hastened - health and recovery treatment for the careers and lives afterwards," David said.
The Clippers responded with a statement to Haynes, disputing the claims.
"Mr. Shelton's claims were investigated and found to be without merit. We honored Mr. Shelton's employment contract and paid him in full," the statement read. "This lawsuit is a belated attempt to shake down the Clippers based on accusations that Mr. Shelton should know are false."
