""The burden is on the league if we're going to discipline a team, an owner, a player or any constituent members of the league," Silver said during his annual news conference at the conclusion of the league's Board of Governors meetings in midtown Manhattan. "I think as with any process that requires a fundamental sense of fairness, the burden should be on the party that is, in essence, bringing those charges.""
""Just by the way those words read, I think as a matter of fundamental fairness, I would be reluctant to act if there was sort of a mere appearance of impropriety. ... I think that the goal of a full investigation is to find out if there really was impropriety. Also, in a public-facing sport, the public at times reaches conclusions that later turn out to be completely false.""
The league must prove wrongdoing before disciplining a team, owner, player or other constituent members. The burden of proof rests with the league and investigative decisions should be based on the totality of the evidence rather than mere appearance. Acting solely on appearances is discouraged to preserve fundamental fairness and to avoid public conclusions that may prove false. A full investigation aims to determine whether impropriety actually occurred. The NBA has opened an inquiry into whether the LA Clippers, owner Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard violated rules after Leonard accepted a $28 million endorsement from Aspiration, a now-bankrupt company in which Ballmer invested.
Read at ESPN.com
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