Nov 10, 2026 · 49 min
Pablo Torre follows money from sports scandals to ownership empires
How to Make Journalism Fun, with Maury Povich
The conversation shows how sports reporting can make opaque systems of wealth, influence, and accountability legible without sacrificing rigor or humor.
- 1The Clippers investigation began with a bankruptcy filing and grew into questions about Kawhi Leonard’s LLC, sponsorships, and NBA accountability.
- 2Pablo Torre argues that independent reporting depends on persistence, collaboration, legal review, and a willingness to withstand wealthy subjects’ pressure.
- 3Sports offer an accessible route into harder questions about money, ownership, private equity, women’s athletics, and institutional power.
Don't miss
Torre explains how a tip about Aspiration and a bankruptcy filing led to Kawhi Leonard’s LLC and an unexplained $7 million claim.
The brief
Maury Povich and Pablo Torre meet at the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, where family legacy and investigative ambition frame a conversation about making journalism accessible.
Torre traces the Clippers investigation to a tip about Aspiration and a bankruptcy filing that led to Kawhi Leonard’s LLC and an unexplained $7 million claim.
The discussion pairs serious reporting with comic detours, including Tim Tebow, a mechanical bird, and a Steve Kerr lookalike who made even a harmless call feel ominous.
Torre describes independent journalism as collaborative but editorially independent, with legal review helping a small staff investigate powerful subjects without surrendering its conclusions.
The conversation widens to Mark Walter’s sports holdings, women’s athletics, rising franchise valuations, and whether leagues meaningfully scrutinize the origins of owners’ wealth.
Its central case is that sports journalism matters because games provide a familiar lens for examining money, power, ethics, and accountability beyond the field.
Weekly email
State of the Pod, every Monday
The week's most-discussed names and stories from podcasts, with the moments behind them. Free, five minutes, unsubscribe in one click.