Getty Image / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
Oct 14, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; LA Clippers owner Steve Ballmer reacts in the game against the Dallas Mavericks during the first half at Intuit Dome, with the Ticketmaster logo added to the top-left corner
While the overwhelming majority of NBA fans seem to support the league’s decision to bring the hammer down on the Los Angeles Clippers and Steve Ballmer for circumventing the salary cap to sign superstar Kawhi Leonard, not everyone agrees.
Notably, former Ticketmaster CEO Nathaniel Hubbard believes NBA commissioner Adam Silver badly missed the mark with his punishment.
Hubbard, who served as the event-ticketing goliath’s CEO from 2010-2013, believes that the league’s punishment – which included the forfeiture of five first-round picks and a $30 million fine to Ballmer, believes the move punishes the wrong people.
1) This Clippers penalty is dumb.
My son is in tears asking why I didn’t raise him a Laker fan (lol). I’ve got 3 years left on my season tickets. Why decimate a franchise? Who’s being punished?
Leagues should operate from a view that the owners are stewards of the fans’ team.
— Nathan Hubbard (@NathanCHubbard) September 3, 2026
NBA Fans Slam Ex-Ticketmaster CEO For Clippers Take
Hubbard’s biggest contention seems to stem from the fact that the punishment targets the wrong people, hurting fans who did nothing wrong in the situation.
“This Clippers penalty is dumb,” he wrote on X. “My son is in tears asking why I didn’t raise him a Laker fan (lol). I’ve got 3 years left on my season tickets. Why decimate a franchise? Who’s being punished? Leagues should operate from a view that the owners are stewards of the fans’ team.”
Well, Nathaniel, Steve Ballmer is being punished. Not only was Ballmer fined $30M, but he stands to lose millions more in revenue should the team struggle as much as it is expected to in the coming year.
“If the owner actually did this, the league should be able to make him sell the team,” he continued. “That’s the punishment (the market is great for teams)! No more billionaire toys. Ownership is a privilege not a right. It’s happened before to this very franchise!”
Okay, this one is a fair take. But the likely reality is the league wants Ballmer around. It just doesn’t want him cheating.
“At a minimum the owner should be given the choice to accept the penalty (once his legal options are exhausted) or sell the team,” Hubbard said, wrapping up his argument. “We’d help him decide that pretty quickly. A generation of invested fans shouldn’t bear the death penalty because of a bad actor? The plot is lost.”
Ballmer could still sell the team. And perhaps the league would lessen the penalties should he do so. But herein lies the catch.
Ticketmaster Has A History Of Corruption
Hubbard is a massively flawed messenger. Sure, he’s no longer with Ticketmaster. But he helped the company grow into the monopoly it’s become.
Ticketmaster has so much control of the event ticketing marketplace that even Congress is seemingly united against it. That’s almost impossible these days!
But fans didn’t miss the irony in Hubbard’s complaints.
“Don’t think the former CEO of Ticketmaster should be complaining about screwing fans over,” one wrote.
“At any point as CEO of Ticketmaster did you think of the fans?” asked another. “How many fans did you price out of seeing their favorite artists in the name of maximizing shareholder value? You’re just pissed because this affects YOU and YOUR kids. Get lost with this hypocritical bulls—.”
Sorry Nathaniel, but you should probably sit this one out.