The controversy surrounding Kawhi Leonard’s $28 million endorsement deal with the now-bankrupt green finance firm Aspiration has taken another turn, as former CEO Andrei Cherny publicly challenged journalist Pablo Torre’s explosive reporting.
What began as a quiet investigation into alleged salary-cap circumvention by the Los Angeles Clippers has now evolved into a public war of words between two high-profile figures.
In a statement posted to X and shared with The Athletic, Cherny denied Torre’s claim that Leonard’s contract was a “no-show” deal. He asserted that the agreement included “three pages of extensive obligations” and that Aspiration had the right to terminate the contract if Leonard failed to meet them.
Cherny also claimed that Torre’s team never contacted him for comment prior to publishing the report, suggesting a lack of journalistic diligence.
“The contract clearly said that if Leonard did not meet those obligations, Aspiration could terminate the contract,” Cherny wrote.
Torre didn’t let the accusation stand. In a pointed response on X, he refuted Cherny’s version of events and shared screenshots to back up his claims. Torre stated that his team had requested an on-camera interview via LinkedIn and sent Cherny a detailed list of questions via email-messages Cherny later admitted had landed in his spam folder.
“Hi Andrei—Your tweet is, obviously, false,” Torre wrote. “We then e-mailed you a series of detailed questions. (You told me they got lost in your spam filter.) Also: this is you, right?”
Hi Andrei —
Your tweet is, obviously, false. @pablofindsout requested an on-camera interview with you via LinkedIn. We then e-mailed you a series of detailed questions. (You told me they got lost in your spam filter.)
Also: this is you, right? https://t.co/rtjg4NbiIg pic.twitter.com/kEMxAG0lM6
— Pablo Torre 🕳️ (@PabloTorre) September 12, 2025
Torre’s rebuttal included receipts, literally, highlighting the thoroughness of his reporting and challenging Cherny’s credibility.
Cherny, who resigned from Aspiration shortly after signing the deal, maintains that the contract was legitimate and that any mismanagement occurred after his departure. However, three former Aspiration executives have contradicted him, stating that the deal was “strategically difficult to justify” and executed despite internal objections.
With the NBA’s investigation ongoing and public scrutiny intensifying, the Torre-Cherny exchange adds another layer of drama to an already tangled story.
