According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, a former trainer for the Los Angeles Clippers has filed a lawsuit against the team for wrongful termination.
Randy Shelton, the former strength and conditioning coach, alleges in his lawsuit that he was let go after expressing concerns about the “unsafe and illegal treatments” being administered to star player Kawhi Leonard.
Shelton asserts that the team’s primary focus was on Leonard’s on-court performance rather than his overall recovery. Leonard had surgery due to a torn ACL sustained during the 2021 playoffs, and he was informed that his recovery timeline would be approximately 730 days.
“Simply put, this recovery timetable was unacceptable to the Clippers,” the lawsuit states.
After missing an entire season, the Clippers were said to have created a strategy to limit Kawhi’s minutes and prevent him from participating in back-to-back games. However, as the season began, Shelton claims that Leonard was “required to play significant minutes,” which led to him experiencing swelling and inflammation in his knee after just two games.
The lawsuit further alleges that a concussion Leonard suffered was not properly addressed, and that his playing load increased, including playing in back-to-back games as the season neared its end. Additionally, it claims that the Clippers misclassified a torn meniscus in Leonard’s right knee as a sprain, even though an MRI revealed the rupture and significant cartilage damage.
“We hope that our client’s lawsuit will serve as a wake-up call to the Clippers organization that their players are not merely dollar amounts, but rather individuals who need appropriate—and not expedited—health and recovery care for their careers and lives thereafter,” David stated.
In response, the Clippers issued a statement to Haynes, rejecting the allegations.
“Mr. Shelton’s claims were investigated and found to be without merit. We honored Mr. Shelton’s employment contract and compensated him in full,” the statement read. “This lawsuit is a delayed attempt to extort the Clippers based on claims that Mr. Shelton knows to be false.”
