Pablo Torre is feeling vindicated — sort of.
Back in July, Variety spoke with the trailblazing sports journalist about “Pablo Torre Finds Out,” his engrossing podcast, a mélange of chat show and true-crime docuseries wherein Torre breadcrumbs investigative reporting to his pals, and its monthslong, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into how the Los Angeles Clippers were alleged to have circumvented the NBA salary cap by having its star player, Kawhi Leonard, receive a $28 million no-show endorsement deal from Aspiration, whose co-founder was recently sentenced to 14 years in prison for defrauding investors (Clippers owner Steve Ballmer, the richest owner in the league, among them).
Ballmer had repeatedly — and vehemently — denied any involvement in the salary cap-circumvention scheme, and Torre had received a barrage of public criticism for his in-depth reporting from the likes of Ballmer’s billionaire pal (and former NBA owner) Mark Cuban and former NBA player turned podcaster Ty Lawson. His reporting was even undermined by his former employer, ESPN, in an Aug. 17 story by reporters Don Van Natta Jr., Baxter Holmes and Ramona Shelburne, under the headline, “Sources: NBA has no evidence Ballmer funneled money to Leonard via sponsors,” and the news site Puck, whose founding partner Peter Hamby accused Torre of chasing “clout and clicks and building your audience.”
