Kawhi Leonard’s tenure with the Clippers has been marred by numerous injuries, and his status for this season remains in doubt.
As the organization plays its opening season in the newly completed Intuit Dome, a new complication has arisen: a lawsuit filed Thursday by a former trainer alleges unsafe treatment of the franchise’s star player.
Randy Shelton was the strength and conditioning coach at San Diego State and worked closely with Leonard during the player’s time with the Aztecs.
The lawsuit says the Clippers began their pursuit of Leonard — using Shelton as an intermediary — in 2017, years before Leonard joined the team.
Following a devastating ankle injury for Leonard during the Western Conference Finals in 2016, Clippers assistant general manager Mark Hughes emphasized discretion as he sought out the San Antonio Spurs star’s private health information through Shelton, the lawsuit states.
Hughes and Shelton spoke around 15 times by phone and seven times in person, Shelton says. The offer: a job as the Clippers’ strength and conditioning coach if the team could persuade Leonard to join.
The team got its wish, with Leonard and Shelton joining in the 2019 offseason. From there, Shelton was relegated to the sidelines as a new assistant coach, Todd Wright, took over his responsibilities, the lawsuit says.
Shelton’s remaining job was to take care of Leonard, a task that the suit claims was made deliberately more difficult as the team excluded Shelton from meetings and “withheld necessary medical treatment and information that impacted Leonard’s training and health.”
Leonard’s health woes continued. He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the 2021 playoffs, and Shelton set a recovery target of two years — a timetable the Clippers were unwilling to accept, he says.
Upon Leonard’s return for the 2022-23 season, the team promised a minutes restriction and that the forward would not play back-to-back games but failed to uphold that promise, Shelton claims. After the first two games, Leonard complained of knee swelling and inflammation, and an MRI revealed cartilage damage.
The lawsuit says Leonard was “given biologics to band-aid the problem” instead of allowing the player the necessary time to heal. Less than a month later, in November 2022, Leonard returned to play and suffered two ruptured ligaments in his ankle within a week.
Again, Shelton claims, the team demanded productivity, circumventing Shelton’s advice and withholding information from him. Shelton says the team began to force him out shortly thereafter.
As Leonard battled through these numerous injuries and the team’s record faltered, his minutes per game increased from 32 in December 2022 to 35 in January and 38 in February.
This heavier load, which included one set of back-to-back games in March and April 2023, helped lead the team to a playoff berth as the No. 5 seed. In the first round against Phoenix, Leonard tore his meniscus and suffered cartilage damage on his repaired ACL, requiring another surgery.
After the injury, Shelton complained to the team. He said, according to the lawsuit, that “the mishandling of Kawhi Leonard’s injury and return-to-play protocol has been mind-blowing,” and that “the disregard for his recovery process is unacceptable.”
The Clippers conducted an internal investigation, which concluded in June 2023 and found no wrongdoing. In July, President Lawrence Frank fired Shelton without cause, according to Shelton.
In the 2023-24 season, Leonard again suffered a physical breakdown that necessitated another surgery. Shelton blames the team for pushing Leonard too hard.
“The Clippers place revenue and winning above all else, even the health and safety of their ‘franchise’ player in Leonard,” the lawsuit says.
Leonard missed the Olympics and is out to start the season. His return date is unclear.
The Clippers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a statement provided to Chris Haynes, the NBA reporter who first reported on the lawsuit, the Clippers said: “Mr. Shelton’s claims were investigated and found to be without merit. We honored Mr. Shelton’s employment contract and paid him in full. This lawsuit is a belated attempt to shake down the Clippers based on accusations that Mr. Shelton should know are false.”
