Terminated Clippers Trainer Files Lawsuit Against The Franchise For Subjecting Kawhi Leonard To “Unsafe And Illegal Treatment” For His Injuries

 

Kawhi Leonard of the LA Clippers reacts during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo CenterKawhi Leonard (Image Credit: Getty Images)
The Los Angeles Clippers are in some serious deep waters. Following the termination of their assistant performance coach, Randy Shelton, things have taken a turn for the worse. In a recent development, Shelton has filed a lawsuit against the Clippers and its president, Lawrence Frank. Interestingly, the entire fiasco also involves Kawhi Leonard.

As a matter of fact, Shelton and Leonard have been working together since their San Diego State University days. The duo then carried forward with their partnership as Shelton got associated with the Clippers in 2019. Unfortunately, all that would come to a screeching halt as Shelton would lose his job following nasty fallout.

Bringing in some concerning allegations, Shelton accused the Clippers of subjecting Leonard to “unsafe and illegal treatment, in disregard for Leonard’s health and safety and known medical restrictions.” Unable to tolerate the mistreatment, Shelton spoke out, enraged the Clippers’ authorities. Soon, they allegedly targeted and harassed Randy Shelton, terminating his contract henceforth.

Moreover, Shelton also accused the Clippers of fabricating Kawhi Leonard’s inclusion into their side. As per the lawsuit, Lawrence Frank had eyes on Leonard since the time he was playing for San Antonio Spurs. After contacting Shelton, he was asked to keep all the conversations discreet, allegedly disregarding “NBA’s prohibition on tampering.” Now, with the legal battle on, there has already been an interesting back and forth between the two parties.

Following the legal stir-up, both parties have issued some stern warnings. John David, a lawyer representing Shelton, issued a statement saying that the lawsuit was a stern wakeup call for the Clippers. “We hope that our client’s lawsuit will serve as a wakeup [sic] 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,” the statement read.

On the contrary, Chris Haynes, for the Clippers, dismissed the allegations, terming them as “without merit.” Haynes further went on to state that the accusations brought in are false, and Randy Shelton was fully aware of the same.

Unfortunately, in the middle of all the drama, things got gloomy for Kawhi Leonard. After featuring in 68 games last year, Leonard has been ruled out indefinitely due to a knee inflammation. Thus, with the legal battle in full flow, it remains to be seen which way the pendulum of justice swings.