Sports Agents in Trouble? Maybe, Maybe Not
Sports agents can be easy targets sometimes, because the bad apples in the industry get an undue amount of attention. Sometimes, however, people go too far in impugning sports agent.
See if you can follow this saga of a potential problem with a sports agency. A major league ballplayer fires his agent. The cops are investigating a former employee of the agency for stealing money from the player. Somehow, a sports writer links this alleged theft with an entirely separate lawsuit filed against this sports agency.
Got all that? Me neither. Let’s see if we can sort out this scenario and figure out the preposterous implication made by this sports writer, a former lawyer who usually does outstanding work in my opinion. Last month, Angels first baseman Kendry Morales fired Hendricks Sports Management. Last week, the news was reported that an employee of Hendricks is being investigated by Coral Springs police for the disappearance of more than $300,000 from Morales’ bank account. Sounds like a fiasco, right? Clearly, the authorities will sort out whether money was stolen, and if it was, the responsible parties will face criminal charges.
The next part is what makes no sense. In December, heralded Cuban prospect Aroldis Chapman switched agents from a relative unknown to Hendricks. He then signed a 10-year, $30.25 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds. His former agent, the relatively unknown Athletes Premier International, sued Hendricks as a result of Chapman’s switch. Somehow, the writer links Chapman's choice to retain Hendricks with the alleged criminal actions by a Hendricks employee.
I cannot figure out what the alleged criminal activity by the apparently rogue employee has to do with Chapman’s switch. A Hendricks employee allegedly stole money from a client. A player switched from another agent to Hendricks, spurring a lawsuit from the old agent. How are these things an indication that a player should not sign with Hendricks. The Hendricks brothers have been around for decades so they do not need this blog to defend them, but it seems to me that their name is being unnecessarily dragged through the mud.
