Front Burner: "The Year in Sports Scandal with Pablo Torre"

CBC, hosted by Jamie Poisson — December 23, 2025

Overview

In this engaging episode, sports journalist and podcaster Pablo Torre joins host Jamie Poisson to break down the year’s most explosive sports scandals and what they mean for the state of sports journalism. Torre discusses his landmark investigations into NBA and NFL corruption, the challenges and future of deep-dive reporting, and the growing (and dangerous) relationship between sports and gambling. The episode moves from the specifics of recent scandals to broader reflections on the transformation of sports media, offering both sharp analysis and candid, often witty exchanges.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pablo Torre’s Approach and the State of Sports Journalism

• Pablo’s Show: Torre frames Pablo Torre Finds Out as a kind of “news magazine,” releasing three episodes per week, each centered on solving sports mysteries with rigorous journalism ([01:59]).
  • Example episode: Deep-dive investigation into which athlete has the “best self-branded weed strain.”
• Investigative Methods: Stories range from the serious to the absurd, but all are covered with depth and attention to detail. Torre references using "an army of geoguessrs" to track down the infamous Airbnb where Bill Belichick was caught on a viral Ring camera video ([02:44]).
  • “Journalism as a way of getting to something that can be both serious and thoughtful, but also very stupid sometimes. And that's kind of my view of sports in a nutshell.” — Pablo Torre [03:50]

2. The Demise of Sports Illustrated and Media Industry Trends

• Legacy Media’s Decline: Discussion on the dismantling of Sports Illustrated's legendary sports library, as described by former SI writer Jeff Pearlman ([04:51]).
  • Notable Quote: “This lack of interest in sports history, this destruction...exemplified to me...the moment when I knew we were really in trouble, when we stopped valuing stuff like that.” — Jeff Pearlman [05:41]
• Deep Reporting vs. Clickbait Culture: Torre decries the industry's obsession with “pivot to video” and shortsightedness, contrasted with his show’s magazine-inspired, narrative-rich stories ([06:00]).
  • “What I have always found to be most enthralling...was that the best stories were deep and reported and narrative as well as just undergirded by legitimate journalism.” — Pablo Torre [06:45]

3. 2025’s Defining Sports Scandals—Exclusive Investigations

A. The Clippers and the Secret Kawhi Leonard Deal

• The Investigation: Torre spent seven months and sifted through 3,000+ documents, uncovering a scheme in which Clippers owner Steve Ballmer allegedly funneled $28 million in secret payments to Kawhi Leonard via a sponsorship deal with Aspiration, a “climate change-oriented company” ([10:41], [12:49]).
  • “It's a story of one of the most mysterious athletes in the world being paid...an extra $50 million in violation of the rules around fair play and integrity.” — Pablo Torre [11:32]
• Ballmer’s Defense & Aftermath: Ballmer claims ignorance, says he was “conned;” the NBA launches a formal investigation after Torre’s reporting ([14:52], [15:08]).
  • “Steve Ballmer went on ESPN and gave an interview in which he declaimed everything and said, I was conned and I knew nothing about this.” — Pablo Torre [14:52]
  • “How would I be able. Look, they conned me.” — Steve Ballmer [15:08]
• Motives and Consequences: The episode explores questions of rule circumvention, power dynamics, and whether the integrity of sport can withstand unchecked ambition.
  • “The NBA is effectively investigating itself. And I'm...trying to make sure that when an NBA commissioner is empowering a law firm to investigate his boss...they do that in good faith.” — Pablo Torre [16:26]
• Response from Key Figures: Both Ballmer and Leonard denied wrongdoing, with Leonard dismissing the story as “conspiracies.” Even NBA Commissioner Adam Silver explicitly attributed the investigation’s start to Pablo’s podcast ([17:38], [18:14]).
  • “In this investigation here. It began with Pablo and his podcast. This was not something that was on our radar to even be thinking about...” — Adam Silver [18:27]

B. NFL Collusion: Secret Wage Suppression

• The Scoop: Torre uncovered a 61-page suppressed arbitration ruling indicating NFL owners colluded to suppress guaranteed player pay, with the players’ union complicit ([19:53]).
  • “These are adversaries. Typically, the NFLPA is kind of the only check...The union is supposed to hold it in check.” — Pablo Torre [20:13]
  • Instead of celebrating a partial legal victory and using it as leverage, the union “mutually suppressed” the document with the league to maintain a “pro-business” relationship—leading to resignations and a major lawsuit when exposed ([23:44]).
  • “They think...‘we as the people in charge, know what's best. Trust us, we'll deliver you to the promised land.’ And that did not happen.” — Pablo Torre [23:44]

C. NBA Gambling Scandals

• Overview: A series of gambling scandals hit the NBA, involving current and former players under federal investigation for gambling-related offenses ([24:01]).
  • Legalized gambling and “prop bets” (micro-bets on tiny game outcomes) create new avenues for corruption, as players allegedly undermine their own performance for profit ([24:35]).
  • “So in that regard, what the NBA is grappling with is a set of incentives that are very easy to game and in which the public is in the dark again, but behind the scenes, people can make lots of money.” — Pablo Torre [26:07]
• Broader Implications: Torre warns that this gambling boom risks the public’s trust in sports outcomes, threatening the “very magic” of sports ([27:04]):
  • “If you endanger why we fell in love with sports in the first place, you actually risk poisoning the well of sports entirely...like fracking to be environmental again.” — Pablo Torre [28:18]

4. The Bigger Picture: The Crisis of Reporting and Audience Trust

• Debate-Driven vs. Investigative Reporting: The rise of “sports debate shows” on TV has trickled into mainstream news, prioritizing performance over substance. Torre argues for the enduring market and need for original investigative work ([30:27]):
  • “There's a selfish case to care about journalism. The selfish case is people are starving for it...” — Pablo Torre [30:46]
  • “If you protect the source material like it is a body of water, a reservoir we drink from...you could sell it.” — Pablo Torre [31:50]
• On Journalism’s Future: Torre suggests that adapting classic deep-dive reporting to new platforms and audiences is not only viable, but essential:
  • “I'm just doing stuff that existed in other mediums for now, an audience that is unfamiliar with them, and I'm just presenting it to them in their language.” — Pablo Torre [32:24]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Journalism as a way of getting to something that can be both serious and thoughtful, but also very stupid sometimes. And that's kind of my view of sports in a nutshell.” — Pablo Torre [03:50]
• “It's a story of one of the most mysterious athletes in the world being paid...an extra $50 million in violation of the rules around fair play and integrity.” — Pablo Torre [11:32]
• “How would I be able. Look, they conned me.” — Steve Ballmer [15:08]
• “This lack of interest in sports history, this destruction...exemplified to me...the moment when I knew we were really in trouble, when we stopped valuing stuff like that.” — Jeff Pearlman [05:41]
• “If you endanger why we fell in love with sports in the first place, you actually risk poisoning the well of sports entirely...like fracking to be environmental again.” — Pablo Torre [28:18]
• “There's a selfish case to care about journalism. The selfish case is people are starving for it.” — Pablo Torre [30:46]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:59] — Pablo explains the spirit of Pablo Torre Finds Out and the role of journalism-as-mystery-solving
• [04:51] — Jeff Pearlman’s lament on the death of deep sports archives and history at Sports Illustrated
• [10:41] — Torre breaks down his investigation into the Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard secret payment scandal
• [14:52] — Ballmer’s public response and insight into the NBA investigation process
• [17:38] — Direct responses from Kawhi Leonard and Ballmer; acknowledgement from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
• [19:53] — NFL collusion scandal explained: secret wage suppression and union complicity
• [24:01] — NBA gambling scandals and the crisis of sports integrity
• [27:04] — Torre’s analysis on the existential threat gambling poses to sports
• [30:27] — Ruminations on the transformation of sports media and the critical need for investigative journalism

Tone and Style

The conversation is wide-ranging, insightful, and delivered in a lively, informal tone. Torre’s signature blend of earnestness and deadpan humor shines throughout, while Jamie Poisson steers the episode with curiosity and a knack for drawing out bigger-picture reflections.

Conclusion

This episode offers a whirlwind tour through the wildest sports scandals of 2025, while raising deeply important questions about the future of journalism, the shifting financial bedrock of sports, and the continued erosion of public trust. For both sports fans and media watchers, Torre’s analysis is essential listening and a rallying cry for original, investigative reporting in a world awash with noise.