The Los Angeles Clippers are denying claims made by a former strength and conditioning coach who is asked for millions of dollars from the organization before filing his wrongful termination lawsuit in October, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes.
Randy Shelton, who was fired by the Clippers last summer, has filed a lawsuit against the Clippers and president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, saying he was punished for expressing concerns about the management of Kawhi Leonard’s injuries, and has made claims of tampering.
In a filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday, the Clippers asked that the dispute be settled by arbitration which is part of the Shelton’s employment contract that was signed back in November 2021.
The Clippers stated that after Shelton’s employment was terminated in July 2023 they paid Shelton’s salary through the end of his contract in June 2024.
“That should have been the end of the matter,” the Clippers said in their legal response. “But [Shelton] misperceived himself as a crusader and wanted attention. After cashing the last of the Clippers’ checks, he demanded that the Clippers pay him millions of dollars for the imagined wrongs asserted in his complaint. When the team refused, he sued.”
Shelton alleged that he was hired as part of a years long recruiting campaign to lure Leonard and said the Clippers “leapt well beyond the bounds of the NBA constitution” with respect to potential tampering violations, as part of the documents filed by his lawyers.
“[Shelton’s] claims are frivolous: There was no ‘tampering’ before the Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard,” the Clippers said in a response. “The Clippers did not provide ‘illegal treatment’ to Mr. Leonard. And [Shelton] was not terminated in ‘retaliation’ for anything. The Court should not be fooled.”
“[Shelton] took it upon himself to render advice to those who had not sought it and that he was not qualified to give,” the team said. “For example, he recommended medical procedures, such as blood-flow restriction, without having any medical training, knowing the players’ condition, or consulting with his supervisors or the team doctors. His unauthorized conduct disrupted relationships between the players, their trainers, and the team, and put the players’ health and well-being at risk.”
Additionally, the Clippers claim that Shelton admitted to “creating drama” by approaching players without knowing their medical histories.
“In demanding that this dispute be settled by arbitration, the Clippers are attempting to sweep the organizational problems highlighted by our client under the rug by taking the case out of the public eye and into a forum that precludes access for all to see,” one of Shelton’s lawyers Anthony Nguyen said.
“We will of course fight their attempt to do so as we believe everyone should have access to the issues uncovered in this case, and find it questionable that the Clippers, despite arguing that our client’s claims are supposedly frivolous, want to prevent public access to the litigation of this case.”
“We believe that this matter should not be hidden from the public nor from fans.”
