​Steve Ballmer is taking the NBA’s punishment after all.The Los Angeles Clippers owner, who vowed to fight back after the league handed down massive punishments earlier this month for cap circumvention related to Kawhi Leonard, has now reversed course and will accept the sanctions placed against him. The fine, he said, has been paid. And while he still has “disagreements” with the NBA’s findings, Ballmer said he just wants to move on.“This has been a very difficult time for everybody associated with the Clippers, and for that, I have sincere regrets,” Ballmer said in a statement on Sunday night. “I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and my fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has caused, for which I accept responsibility as principal owner.”We are committing to put this chapter behind us. We have communicated to the NBA that we are complying with the penalties assessed by the league, have paid the fine, and are moving forward. While there are still disagreements concerning the findings in the report, this is not where I want to focus. Team owners should support, not distract.”For my Los Angeles Clippers followersThis has been a very difficult time for everybody associated with the Clippers, and for that, I have sincere regrets. I want to apologize to our fans, employees, and my fellow NBA team owners for the distraction and distress this matter has…— Steve Ballmer (@Steven_Ballmer) September 14, 2026Clippers had vowed to fight ‘witch hunt’The NBA handed down several significant punishments after it determined that the Clippers and Leonard did circumvent the salary cap through deals with third-party companies, something that was first brought to light through a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation from the “Pablo Torre Finds Out” podcast. As a result, the league stripped the Clippers of five first-round draft picks, fined Ballmer $30 million and issued him a one-year ban from “all league and team activities.” Leonard was also fined $700,000 for his role in the scandal, and other Clippers employees were also penalized. Ballmer has long denied the allegations against him and his team, and the team said that they “vehemently” rejected the league’s findings when the report was released. The team issued a letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, too, and called the investigation a “witch hunt.”That letter even claimed that Ballmer “spent nearly $50 million” to fund the probe that was run by an independent law firm, and that his “reputation has been irreparably damaged” in the “heavily biased investigation.””This investigation has been flawed from the outset. And your decision to issue this report without any notice to the Clippers or their counsel is inexcusable,” the letter concluded.”This type of witch hunt flies in the face of fundamental fairness and the integrity of the league and of this sport that we all love. We are exploring every legal remedy to addr