A former trainer with the Los Angeles Clippers is suing the team for wrongful termination, claiming he was dismissed for raising concerns over the treatment Kawhi Leonard was receiving for his injuries.
Randy Shelton is claiming in a lawsuit that he was “fired after complaining that Kawhi Leonard was being subjected to unsafe and illegal treatments for injuries,” reports Chris Haynes.
The Clippers responded with a statement to Haynes, disputing the 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 statement read. “This lawsuit is a belated attempt to shake down the Clippers based on accusations that Mr. Shelton should know are false.”
Former Los Angeles Clippers trainer Randy Shelton is suing the franchise for wrongful termination, among other things, after he claims he was fired after complaining that Kawhi Leonard was being subjected to unsafe and illegal treatment for injuries. pic.twitter.com/qv1vOwhO7l
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) October 24, 2024
Shelton says he was hired by the Clippers as part of an effort to recruit Leonard 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 through 2011.
“Following Leonard’s departure from SDSU and his selection in the 2011 NBA draft to the San Antonio Spurs, Shelton was hired by Leonard to continue to work with Leonard and prepare him for the NBA,” the lawsuit says. “Leonard and Shelton maintained a personal and working relationship through 2017.”
The document continues by saying that Clippers assistant general manager Mark Hughes “began pursuing Leonard through Shelton” while Leonard was still under contract with the Spurs, with the executive allegedly seeking private health information on Leonard and attempting to learn his contract requirements and medical situation.
Leonard signed with the Clippers before the 2019-20 season and Shelton was hired at that time. After Leonard suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during the NBA Playoffs in 2021, he underwent surgery and the team was told that the timeline for Leonard’s recovery was 730 days.
“Simply put, this recovery timetable was unacceptable to the Clippers,” the lawsuit claims. Leonard eventually sat out the 2021-22 season while recovering.
Upon returning, the Clippers agreed to a load management plan that would limit Leonard’s minutes and him from playing in back-to-back games. But the lawsuit claims the team didn’t follow that plan once the 2022-23 season began.
“However, Leonard was required to play significant minutes to begin the season and complained of swelling and inflammation in his knee after the first two games, on October 24, 2022. An MRI revealed cartilage damage to his knee, and Leonard was given biologics to band-aid the problem rather than allowing Leonard the full time to heal.”
Upon returning to play less than a month later, Leonard sustained two ruptured ligaments in his right ankle. Yet the Clippers “demanded productivity” and allegedly withheld information from Shelton and did not consult him on Leonard’s prognosis and treatment.
The lawsuit goes on to allege that Leonard suffered a concussion which was not properly treated and his workload continued to increase, which included playing in back-to-back games toward the end of the season. Eventually, Leonard tore the meniscus in his right knee during the playoffs but the Clippers allegedly defined the injury as a sprain, despite imaging showing the tear and additional cartilage damage.
Shelton said he wrote a formal complaint about following proper injury protocols to president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, who responded by saying the concerns would be investigated. However, Shelton claims the allegations were considered unsubstantiated and he was soon terminated without cause in July 2023.
“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,” said John David, one of Shelton’s attorneys, in a statement issued to Haynes and ESPN.
Leonard is currently sidelined as the Clippers begin the 2024-25 NBA season, out indefinitely with right knee inflammation. He’s expected to miss an extended period of time, according to subsequent reports. Leonard withdrew from playing with Team USA in the Paris Olympics this past summer due to his knee issues. In January, he signed a three-year, $152.4 million contract extension.