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From the Times:

Last Wednesday, Daktronics CFO Howard Atkins told investors on the company’s earnings call that Daktronics had not only received inquiries from the NBA regarding their endorsement deal with Leonard, but also from the Securities and Exchange Commission and that the company was fully cooperating into the federal probe, via Matt Sullivan of the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast.

“Let me now briefly address a matter that has been in the media concerning the NBA’s investigation of Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers in connection with the league’s collective bargaining agreement that many of you may have heard about. As you might expect, we have received requests for information from the NBA,” Atkins said. “Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking information from us concerning the company and Mr. Leonard. We take these requests seriously and are cooperating. At this point, out of respect for the respective processes, we will not be providing further comment.”

Leonard, as of Thursday night, remains on the Clippers roster. The Raptors agreed to a trade earlier this offseason to bring Leonard back to Toronto, and it’s expected to be completed now that the NBA investigation is complete, but it’s been on hold since late June. Leonard was not suspended by the NBA and did not have his contract voided.

It might sound strange that the government would become involved in a case like this, but as the Times points out, “for nearly two decades, the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn has brought cases that focused on integrity in professional sports.”

It’s important to note that none of this means any criminal charges will necessarily be filed against the Clippers or Ballmer, only that the matter is being investigated.

Meanwhile, apart from this government probe, Ballmer and the Clippers are “vehemently” rejecting the NBA’s findings from its own investigation, which was conducted by the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. The league probe found that the Clippers indeed violated the league’s salary cap rules by “affirmatively initiating off-court income opportunities between Mr. Leonard and four different companies.”

“What the league told us privately differs from what it announced today publicly, and they have not held themselves close to the standard commissioner (Adam) Silver set at the start of this investigation to ensure its fairness and accuracy,” the Clippers said last week. “For the past year, we cooperated fully and in good faith and we will now fight just as hard to demonstrate our innocence. We intend to vigorously challenge these findings and penalties through every avenue available to us and look forward to an ethical and impartial arbitration process.”