A former Los Angeles Clippers trainer suing the team, alleging he was wrongfully fired in 2023 for complaining that the team was subjecting Kawhi Leonard to “unsafe and illegal treatment” for his ongoing knee injuries in disregard for the star small forward’s safety, must arbitrate his claims, the organization argues in new court papers.
Randy Shelton’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations also include retaliation, whistleblower retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Shelton seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
Shelton was fired for speaking out against the “unsafe and illegal treatment” of Leonard, in disregard for the player’s health and safety and known medical restrictions, the suit alleges.
But in court papers filed Thursday with Judge Stephen P. Pfahler in advance of a June 18 hearing, team attorneys contend Shelton is obligated under the terms of his November 2021 employment agreement to take his claims before an arbitrator rather than a jury. The court papers include a sworn declaration by Lawrence Frank, the Clippers’ president for basketball operations, confirming the existence of the arbitration clause.
“Plaintiff disavowed his obligation to arbitrate and filed this lawsuit to make a public spectacle and to defame defendants with statements that he knows or should know are false,” the Clippers lawyers maintain in their pleadings. “The court should not look kindly on his abuse of the Superior Court. Instead, it should enforce plaintiff*s contract and compel him to arbitrate his claims.”
Calling Shelton’s claims “frivolous,” the team attorneys maintain that the star small forward was not provided illegal medical treatment and that retaliation played no role in Shelton’s firing.
“The court should not be fooled,” according to the Clippers’ attorneys.
The NBA team’s lawyers also maintain that Shelton recommended medical procedures, such as blood-flow restriction, without having any medical training, knowing the players’ conditions or consulting with either his supervisors or the team doctor.
“In short, plaintiff refused to limit himself to the job for which he was hired, creating problems for the team and its players and personnel,” the Clippers attorneys maintain in their court papers, adding that Shelton was fired as a result in July 2023.
“Not only will plaintiff lose his case, he will be worse off for having filed it,” the team attorneys further contend in their court papers. “He owes the Clippers a refund of all of the money the team paid him after it terminated his services.”.
According to the suit, the Clippers hired Shelton in July 2019, convincing him to leave his previous position at San Diego State University and the plaintiff’s arrival “was the culmination of a multiyear campaign by the L.A. Clippers to sign Leonard.”
After Leonard himself left San Diego State years before, he hired Shelton to help him get ready for the NBA.
The suit alleges the Clippers “sought to ride Leonard’s back to success, in disregard for the load placed upon Leonard’s failing knees and ankle” as well as paying no attention to the psychological harm to Shelton, according to the suit.
Despite Leonard’s suffering of additional ankle injuries in November 2022 that should have been red flags that additional healing time was needed, team officials “demanded productivity now, circumventing Shelton and excluding Shelton from pertinent information regarding Leonard’s prognosis and care,” the suit allege brought Oct. 24 alleges.