Sports Agents – Are they All Evil?
Track superstar Sanya Richards has weighed in with her take on sports agents, and she does not portray sports agents in a flattering light.
Richards notes that she is being sued by her own agent, although she provides no details on the lawsuit:
I am currently being sued by an agent, someone I once had a great deal of respect for. I speak out not just for myself but for so many athletes, in track and field, that have been in similar situations and for the athletes to come!!!
She also makes a crucial point about the USATF agent certification process, namely referring to the lack of regulation by the sport’s governing body. She apparently had a negative experience with her agent:
Now why would someone that got me a deal, that I would have gotten with or without them, believe that they should be paid beyond the time they worked for me?It blows my mind that these kinds of people exist. People that want to watch you work as hard as you can and then take it away.
In my opinion, the USATF agent certification process leaves a lot to be desired. There is a reason that track athletes and track agents are on the verge of war with one another. The athletes come and go, but the agents are always there. As a result, they wield an extraordinary amount of power in the sports. I hope that someone such as Sanya Richards, who had the courage to put her name out there with this blog post, can start a drive to revamp the process and reform the sport.
