20 Second Timeout

Analyzing the Media Storm Surrounding the L.A. Clippers

I deliberately left the words "accusation" and "scandal" out of this article's title because I don't know if the L.A. Clippers violated the NBA's salary cap rules. You don't know, either, even though you may think that you do. The only things that we know are (1) there is a media storm surrounding the L.A. Clippers, and (2) the NBA is investigating the Clippers for a possible violation of the league's salary cap rules. 

Unless you avoid all media outlets and social media outlets--which may not be the worst way to live--you are aware that podcaster Pablo Torre accused the L.A. Clippers and their majority owner Steve Ballmer of circumventing the NBA's salary cap rules by arranging for Kawhi Leonard to be paid $28 million by a sustainability startup called Aspiration for an allegedly "no show" job that involved no work (feel free to insert a joke about Leonard also not working at his main job due to load management).

Torre was armed mainly with anonymous sources speaking about a stack of documents allegedly pertaining to the business dealings, bankruptcy proceedings, and federal prosecution for fraud of Aspiration. Joe Sanberg, Aspiration's founder, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud for his role in a $248 million scam. "This so-called ‘anti-poverty’ activist has admitted to being nothing more than a self-serving fraudster, by seeking to enrich himself by defrauding lenders and investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars," Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli said Aug. 21 in a statement. "I commend our law enforcement partners for their efforts in this case, and I urge the investing public to use caution and beware of wolves in sheep's clothing."

It is not clear at this point if the Clippers were victims of Sanberg's fraud--as they assert--or if they were using Aspiration to funnel money to Leonard while circumventing the NBA's salary cap rules. Legally, it does not matter how things "look" or how a podcaster and his podcasting buddies present things; the only thing that matters legally is evidence. 

It is fascinating to listen to non-lawyers talk about legal issues. An anonymous source speaking on a podcast is not presenting evidence from a legal standpoint; a person testifying under oath or a person submitting a sworn affidavit is presenting evidence.

So, not only do we not know for sure the facts concerning the relationships that may or may not exist among the L.A. Clippers, Kawhi Leonard, and Aspiration, we also do not know the legal significance of such relationships.

It is wise to reserve judgment about the credibility and motives of the anonymous sources interviewed on a podcast sponsored by "The Athletic," which is owned by The New York Times. The New York Times has been a shady organization in a variety of ways for a long time, including treating writers shabbily, and refusing to apologize after falsely accusing three Duke student athletes of rape. Torre assures everyone that he has total editorial independence, notwithstanding the funding he receives from The New York Times. It must be just a fortunate coincidence that Torre happened to break such a big story in the first edition of his podcast after his partnership with "The Athletic"/The New York Times was formalized; there is no doubt that Torre and "The Athletic"/The New York Times are not motivated at all by such crass concerns as money or clicks, and that they live by a credo consisting of truth, justice, and defending the sanctity of the NBA's salary cap rules.

The Clippers have issued two statements of denial. In the second statement, they termed allegations against the team "absurd" and declared, "There is nothing unusual or untoward about team sponsors doing endorsement deals with players on the same team. Neither Steve nor the Clippers organization had any oversight of Kawhi's independent endorsement agreement with Aspiration. To say otherwise is flat-out wrong."

All we have for sure right now is a media storm generating clicks, page views, ratings, and social media activity. That is not to say that there is no substance here; the NBA will investigate the assertions, and make a determination regarding whether the L.A. Clippers circumvented salary cap rules. The NBA's announcement of the results of that investigation is news; Torre's podcast and the ensuing media storm is what Daniel J. Boorstin called a "pseudo-event" in his seminal book The Image. Boorstin described what constitutes a pseudo-event (p. 11):

1) It is not spontaneous, but comes about because someone has planned, planted, or incited it. Typically, it is not a train wreck or an earthquake, but an interview.

2) It is planted primarily (but not always exclusively) for the immediate purpose of being reported or reproduced...The question "Is it real?" is less important than, "Is it newsworthy?"

3) Its relation to the underlying reality of the situation is ambiguous...

4) Usually it is intended to be a self-fulfilling prophecy...

Torre could have presented to the NBA privately the information that he found. If the NBA determined that the Clippers had violated rules, that announcement would have been a news event--but a debut podcast sponsored by a legacy media outlet and expected to deliver a big attention-grabbing splash is not a news event: it is Torre talking about something less from the standpoint of "Is it real?" and more from the standpoint of "Is it newsworthy?" or how much attention it will bring to Torre and his new partnership with "The Athletic"/The New York Times.

As part of the media firestorm, Mark Cuban--once the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks, now one of the team's minority owners--blasted Torre, and stated that Steve Ballmer is way too smart to participate in the type of scheme that Torre described. My first thought about Cuban's statement is that it is absurd: our prisons are full of people who thought that they were too smart, too wealthy, or too powerful to be caught, let alone punished. If there is substance to the allegations then Ballmer will need a much more robust defense than "I'm too smart to do something that stupid." My second thought is that Cuban's seemingly off the cuff outburst--which may not be as off the cuff as it seems--is a dream come true for Torre and "The Athletic"/The New York Times, providing yet another pseudo-event for talking heads to discuss. 

The fact that none of the people who are pontificating publicly about this topic actually know for sure what happened will not stop Torre and other media members from profiting from all of the attention that they are receiving. 

My first instinct was to not write about this at all until the NBA announces its findings, but the situation reminds me so much of Boorstin's brilliant insight about pseudo-events that I could not resist making that connection. The Image was published in 1961, and it is as timely and relevant now as it was over 60 years ago.

If it can be proven that the Clippers violated salary cap rules, then the punishment should be swift and harsh--but we live in a society that is governed (or supposed to be governed) by the principles of innocent until proven guilty, and the accused has a right to confront his accusers under oath. This is not a matter of public safety that Torre had to publicize far and wide to save lives; this is a pseudo-event that may subsequently prove to be a legitimate news story--and that may prove to be as false as the accusations that The New York Times published about the Duke lacrosse players. 

Labels: Aspiration, Joe Sanberg, Kawhi Leonard, L.A. Clippers, New York Times, Pablo Torre, Steve Ballmer, The Athletic

posted by David Friedman @ 1:11 AM

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