Clippers owner backs down on NBA punishment, apologizes as team accepts $30-million fine

Clippers owner backs down on NBA punishment, apologizes as team accepts $30-million fine BETH HARRIS INGLEWOOD, CALIF. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PUBLISHED 53 MINUTES AGO Open this photo in gallery: Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer sits on the sideline before a game last season against the Chicago Bulls in Inglewood, Calif. RYAN SUN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer won’t fight the NBA’s salary cap circumvention punishment in a reversal of the team’s initial defiance and vow to fight against what it called “a heavily biased investigation.” In his first public comments since the NBA announced a sweeping punishment against the Clippers this month, Ballmer said in a statement posted online Sunday night that the team would comply with the penalties handed down by the league. The league suspended Ballmer for one year, fined the team US$30-million and forced it to forfeit five first-round draft picks. Ballmer said the team has paid the fine. “While there are still disagreements concerning the findings in the report, this is not where I want to focus,” he said. “Team owners should support, not distract.” Ballmer apologized to Clippers fans, employees and his fellow owners for the “distraction and distress” caused by the investigation that found the team violated salary cap circumvention rules involving Kawhi Leonard. “This has been a very difficult time for everybody associated with the Clippers, and for that, I have sincere regrets,” Ballmer wrote. “I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has caused, for which I accept responsibility as principal owner.” The league came down hard on the organization after a nearly yearlong investigation led by an outside law firm. The Clippers had said multiple times that they had done nothing wrong and expected to be exonerated. After the penalties were announced, the team said it “vehemently” rejected the NBA’s findings and called it “a heavily biased investigation.” Open this photo in gallery: Kawhi Leonard looks on during the first half of a Los Angeles Clippers game against the Milwaukee Bucks, last season in Milwaukee. AARON GASH/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Clippers also released a letter from Ballmer’s attorney David Kelley to NBA commissioner Adam Silver in which he…