Ex-trainer: Clippers fired me for raising concerns about Kawhi's health
Randy Shelton, an ex-Los Angeles Clippers trainer, is suing the team and its president of basketball operations, Lawrence Frank, for wrongful termination, according to court documents obtained by NBA insider Chris Haynes.
Shelton says he was fired after complaining to the club that Kawhi Leonard was being subjected to unsafe treatment for injuries that violated NBA protocols. The lawsuit also says that the Clippers' long-term efforts to attract Leonard "leapt well beyond the bounds of the NBA constitution" in terms of violating the league's tampering rules.
"We hope that our client's lawsuit will serve as a wakeup 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," Shelton's attorney told Haynes in a statement.
Shelton joined the Clippers in July 2019 after working with Leonard at San Diego State, where he was the men's basketball team's strength and conditioning coach. Shelton says his hiring was part of the Clippers' multi-year effort to lure Leonard to his hometown NBA club.
Clippers assistant general manager Mark Hughes initially reached out to Shelton in 2017 while Leonard was still a member of the San Antonio Spurs to seek private health information about the two-time Finals MVP, according to the lawsuit.
The Clippers met with Shelton again during the Toronto Raptors' championship run in 2019 to gauge Leonard's willingness to join the franchise.
Leonard agreed to a three-year, $103-million contract with Los Angeles after leading the Raptors to their first NBA title.
The lawsuit asserts that the Clippers rushed Leonard back from his 2021 ACL tear. It also states that Leonard showed symptoms of a concussion after being hit in the face during a contest against the New Orleans Pelicans on March 25, 2023. Leonard was allegedly allowed to continue playing without being evaluated by the team's medical staff, which goes against the NBA's protocols for potential concussion victims.
Leonard then tore his meniscus in the Clippers' 2023 playoff series against the Phoenix Suns. According to the suit, Shelton submitted a complaint to Frank in the wake of the injury in which he wrote that the "mishandling of Kawhi Leonard's injury and return-to-play protocol has been mind-blowing" and "the disregard for his recovery process is unacceptable." The organization fired Shelton without cause less than three months later.
The Clippers disputed Shelton's claims.
"Mr. Shelton's claims were investigated and found to be without merit. We honored Mr. Shelton's employment contract and paid him in full," the Clippers said in a statement to Haynes. "This lawsuit is a belated attempt to shake down the Clippers based on accusations that Mr. Shelton should know are false."
Shelton is seeking "significant" but unspecified damages at trial, his attorneys told ESPN's Baxter Holmes and Ramona Shelburne.
The NBA said it was unaware of the lawsuit against the Clippers, a league spokesperson told Holmes and Shelburne.