Ex-Aspiration CEO disputes ‘no-show’ label on Kawhi Leonard deal

Former Aspiration CEO Andrei Cherny is pushing back on the idea that Clippers star Kawhi Leonard had a so-called “no-show” endorsement agreement with the now-bankrupt “green bank” company.

In comments relayed by Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic and in a statement posted to social media, Cherny argued that Leonard’s $28 million contract with Aspiration included “three pages of extensive obligations.”

He added that the company could have terminated the deal if Leonard failed to meet those requirements.

“The claim that the contract with Kawhi Leonard was a ‘no-show’ contract is false,” Cherny wrote. “The ‘beliefs’ provision is not unusual in celebrity endorsements and merely means we can’t do something like make a vegetarian eat meat as a way of forcing them to break the contract. It doesn’t mean you can have a ‘belief’ of not talking to the camera.”

The controversy began on Sept. 3, when Pablo Torre reported Leonard had signed the $28 million agreement but never performed any work for the company. Torre also reported Leonard made a separate side deal worth $20 million in stock.

That has led to accusations the Clippers used Aspiration to funnel money to Leonard as a way of skirting the salary cap.

The NBA has since hired a law firm to investigate. Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters this week that the league will need to prove wrongdoing before imposing any punishment.

Cherny, who resigned from Aspiration in 2022, said the company had plans to use Leonard in marketing campaigns.

“I can’t speak to what was done or not done after I left — or why,” he said, while also blaming fellow co-founder Joe Sanberg for the company’s collapse. Sanberg was arrested earlier this year for defrauding investors.

But not everyone agrees with Cherny’s account. Torre received a letter from three former Aspiration executives who said the Leonard deal was presented as a “completed arrangement” and signed off by Cherny despite “significant objections” from senior management.

They argued the agreement was difficult to justify at the time and ultimately not in the company’s best interest.

The NBA’s investigation into Leonard, Aspiration and the Clippers remains ongoing.