Billionaire-Funded Cheating Faces Rare Accountability in Global Sports
AI-generated image · US National Wire
Recent verdicts against Manchester City and the Los Angeles Clippers signal a shift in how the sports world penalizes ultra-wealthy owners.
The sports world is witnessing a rare moment of accountability for the billionaire class, as evidenced by recent verdicts against Manchester City and the Los Angeles Clippers, according to reporting from The Guardian.
On September 2, the NBA revealed that the Los Angeles Clippers and owner Steve Ballmer circumvented the league's salary cap by paying star forward Kawhi Leonard $28 million off the books via a supposed sponsor. Following a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation by journalist Pablo Torre, the NBA fined the Clippers $30 million and docked the team five first-round picks. Ballmer, the ninth richest person globally, received a one-year suspension from team involvement.
Similarly, Manchester City was found guilty of violating the vast majority of 115 charges related to financial rule breaches between 2009 and 2018, as well as obstructing investigations from 2019 to 2023. The UAE-owned club is accused of falsifying financial details, violating the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, and breaching Uefa's financial fair play regulations. U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino told The Guardian that fans "lived through a period of deception" and that sporting fairness did not exist during this era.
While Manchester City maintains its innocence and is expected to appeal, and the Clippers initially rejected the NBA's findings, these cases stand out against a backdrop of perceived impunity for the ultra-rich. The Guardian notes other instances where wealthy owners avoided significant repercussions, such as New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, whose charges were dropped in a Florida case, and New York Knicks owner James Dolan, who faces a discrimination lawsuit involving allegations of illegal spying on fans.