Pablo Torre's reporting on the NFLPA has resulted in real change within the organization. Credit: Pablo Torre Finds Out
By Sean Keeley on

After Pablo Torre Finds Out dropped the bombshell report about how the Los Angeles Clippers were allegedly circumventing the salary cap to pay Kawhi Leonard more money through a shady endorsement deal, he had to fend off criticism from some heavy hitters, such as Bill Simmons and Mark Cuban, not to mention outright denials by Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.

After ESPN initially reported that the NBA had found no evidence that Ballmer and the Clippers had funneled money to Leonard through sponsors, many more people called for Torre’s head and demanded that he apologize or retract the story, which had won him and his staff a Pulitzer Prize.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news that the NBA had, in fact, determined the Clippers had done something shady after all and dropped a hammer on the franchise. The team was stripped of five first-round draft picks, issued a $30 million fine to Ballmer, and required Leonard to pay $700,000 in restitution for improper benefits received. He also reported that Ballmer, President of Basketball Operations Lawrence Frank, and President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker were all facing suspensions. Finally, the Clippers organization and personnel are subject to a compliance and monitoring program overseen by the league office for 5 years.

Torre, Awful Announcing’s 2025 Sports Media Person of the Year, took an understated victory lap, but left much of the appreciation and the apologies to others.

What Pablo Torre did was ridiculously impressive. Uncovered a conspiracy between rich guys, withstood a propaganda campaign by one of the richest guys in the world with a pretty good reputation, didn’t buckle or panic, and just kept reporting. That’s some Pulitzerin’ right there.

— Ben Collins (@bencollins.bsky.social) September 2, 2026 at 1:57 PM

For their part, the Clippers “vehemently reject” the NBA’s punishments and “intend to vigorously challenge the findings.”

The world now waits for specific responses or apologies from Simmons, who was still a bit salty about Torre’s reporting even after they hashed it out, and from former NBA player Ty Lawson, who asked whether the reporter would face punishment for getting the story “wrong.”

In the meantime, the next question to ponder is: why did so many people want to believe Torre was wrong in the first place?

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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