Former Clippers coach suing team, says he was fired for raising concerns about Kawhi Leonard's injury

Former Clippers coach suing team, says he was fired for raising concerns about Kawhi Leonard's injury


A former Los Angeles Clippers coach is suing the team for wrongful termination, claiming he was fired for raising concerns about the treatment Kawhi Leonard received for his injury.

Randy Shelton is claiming in a lawsuit that “Kawhi Leonard was fired after he alleged he was subjected to unsafe and illegal treatment for injuries,” reports Chris Haynes.

The Clippers responded with a statement to Haynes disputing the claims.

“Mr. Shelton's claims were investigated and found without merit. We have honored Mr. Shelton's employment agreement and paid him in full,” the statement read. “This lawsuit is a belated attempt to oust the Clippers based on Mr. Shelton's false allegations.”

Shelton said the Clippers hired Leonard as part of an effort to sign him as a free agent. His relationship with Leonard goes back to when he was a strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State, where the NBA star played college basketball from 2009 to 2011.

“Following Leonard's departure from SDSU and his selection in the 2011 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs, Shelton was hired to continue working with Leonard and prepare him for the NBA.” The case is called. “Leonard and Shelton maintained a personal and working relationship until 2017.”

The document states that Clippers assistant general manager Mark Hughes “began to pursue Leonard through Shelton” while Leonard was still under contract with the Spurs, with the executive seeking Leonard's personal health information and attempting to learn his contract requirements and medical conditions.

Leonard signed with the Clippers prior to the 2019-20 season, and Shelton was hired at that time. After Leonard suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during the 2021 NBA playoffs, he underwent surgery and the team was told that Leonard's recovery window was 730 days.

“Simply put, this recovery schedule was unacceptable to the Clippers,” the lawsuit claims. Leonard eventually recovered and sat out the 2021-22 season.

Upon his return, the Clippers agreed to a load management plan that would limit Leonard and him to back-to-back games. but Claims of the case The team did not pursue that plan after the start of the 2022-23 season.

“However, Leonard had to play significant minutes to start the season and on October 24, 2022, complained of swelling and inflammation in his knee after the first two games. An MRI revealed cartilage damage in his knee, and Leonard was prescribed biologics. Leonard is recovering full time. Band-aid the problem instead of allowing it to happen.”

After returning to action less than a month later, Leonard sustained two torn ligaments in his right ankle. Yet the Clippers claimed “productivity” and withheld information from Shelton and did not consult with him about Leonard's prognosis and treatment.

The lawsuit alleges that Leonard suffered an injury that was not properly treated and that his workload increased, including playing back-to-back games late in the season. Finally, Leonard tore the meniscus in his right knee during the playoffs but the Clippers allegedly defined the injury as a sprain, even though images showed the tear and additional cartilage damage.

Shelton said he wrote a formal complaint about following proper injury protocol to president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, who responded that the concerns would be investigated. However, Shelton claims the allegations were deemed unsubstantiated and he was summarily fired without cause in July 2023.

“We hope that our client's case will serve as a wake-up call to the Clippers organization that their players are not only worth the dollar, but people who need health and recovery treatment for appropriate — and not rushed — careers and later lives,” said John David, An attorney in Shelton, in a statement Haynes and ESPN issued.

Leonard is currently sidelined indefinitely as the Clippers begin the 2024-25 NBA season with right knee inflammation. According to later reports, he is expected to miss an extended amount of time. Leonard withdrew from last summer's Paris Olympics with Team USA due to knee problems. In January, he signed a three-year, $152.4 million contract extension.





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