Sports Agent and Sports Lawyer Blog

As one of only handful of sports agents in Fort Lauderdale, I get a lot of calls and e-mails from local players asking me to be their agent. Wolf Sports Management is always receptive to new clients, but I typically end up giving out free advice to most of these athletes because they need to take initial steps to further their career before they are ready to retain an agent.

This week I received numerous calls and e-mails from football players wondering why they were not selected in the NFL Draft and how they can continue their NFL career now that the draft is over. I usually explain that unless they had an agent working hard on their behalf before the draft, there is virtually no likelihood that they would be drafted.

Then I tell them about the upcoming UFL tryouts. The UFL is a second-tier league that is trying to create a niche as the NFL's minor league. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently invested in the league, so the league has credibility. Fortunately, the UFL is holding tryouts throughout the country this month, so interested football players should click on the UFL's web site (see link here) for more information. The Florida tryouts are on May 8 and May 15, so if you are interested, hurry up and register.

Sports lawyers could have a field day with a softball coach’s alleged misdoings in Colorado. The Boulder Daily Camera newspaper has the story.

Richard Dale Mott, the former Monarch High School softball coach in Boulder, Colorado, is being sued by the father of one of his players after allegedly running off with $80,000 in an investment scheme. Putting aside the unusual question of why anyone would give $80,000 to their daughter’s softball coach, this lawsuit raises all sorts of questions. It seems that Coach Mott was an interesting character:

Mott portrayed himself to his players and their parents as someone of extreme wealth, Davenport said. He told them he was worth $11 billion and owned an expensive home in Evergreen with a six-car garage packed with antique vehicles, Davenport claims.

The bottom line here is twofold. First, given that the coach allegedly stole $185,000 from several investors, it seems doubtful that the plaintiffs will ever get their money back. Second, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The investment was supposedly to fund a “gypsum mining operation in Wyoming.” I will admit that someone, somewhere probably earned a tidy profit investing in a mining operation. However, you can be sure that the investment was not made profitable by giving money to a softball coach who claimed he was a billionaire.

The Ben Roethlisberger story is well documented, but Lester Munson of ESPN.com raises the question of why another NFL player’s sexual assault allegation did not merit a similar media firestorm and suspension.

In January in Indianapolis, Colts defensive tackle Eric Foster was accused by a hotel worker of sexually attacking her in his hotel room. The police were called, Foster’s attorney and the victim’s attorney each performed investigations after the incident, and prosecutors declined to bring charges.

The alleged victim and Foster tell irreconcilably different stories about what happened next, and both offer evidence in support of their assertions. But scrutiny of court documents and analysis of interviews with the attorneys for both Foster and the receptionist indicate that Foster's evidence is more persuasive. The woman filed a report with campus police after the alleged incident, but Indianapolis prosecutors decided not to file any criminal charge against Foster.

The alleged victim claims in her civil suit that Foster lured her into his room with a claim of a malfunctioning heater, and then attacked her. Seeking money damages, she alleges that Foster is guilty of "exposing himself, touching, groping, and forcing [her] to engage in deviate sexual acts."

So what does the Foster case tell us about athletes who are in potential legal trouble? It probably does not provide any lessons other than that the athlete is well served to retain the best defense attorney possible, spare no expense in allowing his attorney to thoroughly investigate the allegations, and if he believes he is innocent, take a lie detector test and have counsel publicize the results. It still does not explain why the commissioner did not discipline Foster and imposed a six-game ban on Roethlisberger.

LaShawn Merritt is the latest American track star to be suspended, having accepted a provision suspension for an over-the-counter “male enhancement product.”

Merritt, who won gold in the 400 in Beijing, accepted a “provisional suspension” and will refrain from competition while his case is resolved:

According to a release from Merritt's lawyer, Howard Jacobs, the sprinter used a male enhancement product containing substances that caused him to fail three successive tests between October 2009 and January 2010. If that's the extent of his positive tests, it would presumably not put his Olympic medals or his 2009 world championships at stake. Merritt won gold in the 400 at 2009 worlds in Berlin and teamed with Wariner to win the 1,600-meter relay in Beijing and Berlin.

As usual, the USATF weighed in with its typical heavy-handed and exaggerated commentary on the subject. This time, CEO Doug Logan said he is “disgusted by this entire episode.”

My view on doping suspensions is well documented on this blog. There is no place for performance enhancing drugs in sports. On the eve of the Penn Relays, this is not the type of news that the track community needs. With that said, if the USATF would pay more attention to its elite athletes rather than blindly piling on when one of its stars gets into trouble and failing to make the distinction between the substances such as what Merritt took and performance enhancers.

This sports lawsuit sounded frivolous at first.

When a New England Patriots season ticket holder sued the team and NFL asking for refunds for their season tickets while the team was illegally taping opposing signals, most people assumed it would be thrown out of court.

Not so fast.

Last week the Third Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on the plaintiff’s motion to dismiss, signifying that the court is taking the matter seriously. Court watchers often like to make predictions based on judge’s comments and questions, which can be a dicey proposition under normal circumstances, but should give the NFL and Patriots cause for concern in this instance.

Some of the toughest questions came from Judge Robert E. Cowen, who called the taping "a tremendous violation, no doubt about that," of league rules.

Judge Cowen also asked how what the Patriots did was different from a team taking money to throw a game.

The NFL’s floodgate argument, that this lawsuit will result in a flood of lawsuits by disgruntled fans, probably has little merit. The case will be decided on the basis of the relationship and expectations that a fan can rightfully assume when he buys a ticket.

Sometimes as a sports lawyer, you get a case that just makes you sit up and wonder what on earth the other side is thinking.

Imagine you are representing the plaintiffs in a sports lawsuit. Let’s say you represented a softball team from a high school that wanted to sue the school district for a violation if Title IX. As evidence of the inequality between the softball and baseball teams, we have the following:

The softball team plays on a “rock-strewn field about a mile from school.” The baseball team plays in a “stadium with covered seating for 1,500, an air-conditioned press box, a manicured field and batting cages with artificial turf.” Not only that, but the softball coach was told that he would be fired if he complained about the inequality. You probably do not need a law degree to predict who is going to win this Title IX discrimination lawsuit.

Surely, no case would ever be this simple, right? Wrong. This is precisely what happened in Maui at Baldwin High School. Not surprisingly, the parties settled when the governor agreed to release one million dollars in funds to upgrade the softball facilities, and to pay the plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees as well.

We have extensively detailed the metal vs. wood bat debate among youth league baseball. (See our blog posts: here and here, just as two recent examples). Each time we post about the subject, we get contacted by people who want to tell their side of the story.

Now a newspaper in Arkansas reports that teams in the area are seriously questioning whether they should switch from wood to metal bats. The Fayetteville Observer’s article creates what I would view as a terrifying depiction of what goes through the softball coach at a local college.

Miguel Justiniano, who coaches at Fayetteville State, says that he knows when his third baseman moves closer to the plate to field a bunt, he had better be right about the batter bunting, because a line drive down the line could have a devastating impact.

As far as the Broncos coach is concerned, metal bats make playing third base in softball one of the most dangerous positions in all of sports. But that's behind the pitchers, who stand only 43 feet away and must react to balls traveling more than 100 miles per hour.

"One day, when we have a death, everything will change," Justiniano says. "Do we need to wait for someone to pass away before we know this is harmful? I'd rather be safe and cautious than wait for something to happen."

Nevertheless, despite the acknowledgment that metal bats appear to be dangerous, it is interesting that none of the coaches interviewed for the article appear ready to advocate for a switch back to wood bats. The author does, however, note that the NCAA’s regulations on metal bat safety are imminent:

The NCAA has taken multiple steps to regulate metal bats. After USC beat Arizona 21-14 in the championship game of a 1998 College World Series that featured plenty of home runs, the organization adopted the BESR (ball exit speed ratio) standard in 2003.

Those regulations made bats heavier, shrank barrels and ensured that balls came off bats at the same top exit speed as wooden bats (97 mph). But the NCAA and state high school athletic associations will take further steps over the next couple years to continue making metal bats act more like wood ones.

Starting in 2011, the NCAA will make baseball teams use bats that meet BBCOR (Bat Ball Coefficient of Restitution) standards. High school baseball will follow suit in 2012, and bats with the BESR stamp will no longer be legal.

Olympic medalist Walter Dix kicked off his 2010 outdoor season last weekend in Tallahassee, and came away with a resoundingly successful time in the 200. Dix finished at 20:44 in the 200 meters, to win the race in his return to the track where he became an 18-time All-American as a collegian.

Next, Dix is targeting the Penn Relays on April 24, 2010, during which he is widely expected to go head-to-head with Usain Bolt.

Bob Cook, who runs an excellent blog about youth sports called "Your Kid's Not Going Pro" has a comprehensive roundup of recent youth sports hazing legal matters. The article, updates six hazing incidents from around the country.

Bob's article speaks for itself, but it never ceases to amaze that people exist such as Bernie Busken, an Arizona football coach who apparently thinks that hazing is acceptable and who blames the victims. Based on his so-called apology, Busken would seem like a lawsuit waiting to happen for the school district in Chandler, Arizona. This is what Busken said:

“I have never done anything where I meant to hurt someone physically, mentally or anything else. I just tried to prepare them for their one shot to do well. All I can do now is apologize. If I was kidding around and I crossed a line; for those things I was wrong and I am sorry.”

Here is a news flash for Coach Busken: It is not an apology when you blame the victim. It is only an apology if you take full responsibility for your actions and show contrition. The "I'm sorry if you were hurt" language is not an apology.

Here in Florida, hazing is prohibited by the so-called Florida Hazing Law, which is Florida Statute 1006.63. The law, linked here, provides criminal penalties for hazing. It requires an anti-hazing policy and offers a broad definition of hazing:

Any action or situation that recklessly or intentionally endangers the mental or physical health or safety of a student for purposes including, but not limited to, initiation or admission into or affiliation with any organization operating under the sanction of a postsecondary institution.

Even though institutions are required to maintain an active anti-hazing policy, hazing still happens. Coaches and administrators have to be held responsible.

Walter Dix is back home!

Dix, a two-time Olympic Bronze medal winner in Beijing in 2008 and a former NCAA champion at Florida State, is running in the 200 at the Seminole Invitational in Tallahassee. This is the first meet of a full outdoor season for Dix.

Dix was an 18-time All-American at FSU, and there is no better place to make his season debut than his home track. He will run in the 200 meters at 2:55 p.m. on Saturday April 10, 2010. Dix will also be available to sign autographs after his race.

For more information about the Seminole Invitational, click here.

Dix is also proud to announce his affiliation and involvement with The Tallahassee Trailblazer, Inc., an area youth summer track and field program for kids from ages seven through eighteen. The organization's mission is to help youth strengthen their life management skills and boost their self-esteem through goal orientation and hard work both in sports and in life. For more information about The Tallahassee Trailblazer, click here.

How valuable are athlete endorsements? If you are the athlete, they are typically the gold standard. Everyone gets a salary, but not everyone receives an endorsement deal.

Some people still believe that endorsements are worthless. In this commentary on CNN, former best-selling author Bob Greene weighs in on the topic:

How would you feel if you read an ecstatic movie review that made you want to run right down to the theater and buy a ticket -- and then it was reported that the reviewer had received a large check from the movie studio to make sure he gave the film a rave?

What Greene ignores is the obvious fact that the public knows that all endorsers are paid. It is not a trick. We know Brett Favre was paid by Wrangler. We know Peyton Manning was paid by DirecTV. We know Walter Dix was paid by Nike. Yet the endorsements still work because fans want to be associated with athletes.

Greene’s column makes no sense. He argues that the endorsements are useless because the athlete is being paid. What he ignores is basic sports business – and common sense. Consider Favre’s endorsement of Wrangler. If a consumer had the time and resources to carefully study Wrangler versus all the other jeans in the same price category, he would probably not find a substantial difference between Wrangler and the competition. I am sure that the company would disagree, but if you ripped off the labels from Wrangler and Levi's and Lee jeans, would there be a notable distinction? From Wrangler’s perspective, the company needs every possible edge to beat out the competition. So they pay a lot of money to a well-known quarterback to endorse them. They create an image that they feel is associated with Favre’s image. People already like Favre, and they see him having fun playing touch football in the park with his buddies while wearing Wranglers. This helps people make decisions.

People are not stupid. If Wrangler was actually terrible quality and it fell apart after you wore the jeans once, then Favre’s endorsement would not mean much. Instead, his celebrity endorsement separates the product from the competition.

A baseball player has filed a lawsuit because the sun got in his eyes.

This lawsuit is a unique case, as far as I can tell. The elements are a fundamental part of baseball, which is why baseball players typically wear sunglasses if necessary. Nevertheless, I would stop far short of arguing that this lawsuit is frivolous on its face.

The Canadian amateur baseball player is suing the company that owns the ballpark because he believes it allegedly failed to put a sun screen in place. George Black was allegedly injured in 2004 when he was hit by a line drive. He is seeking $1.25 million in damages.

While Canadian tort law may differ from American law, the cause of action appears to be virtually identical, as the plaintiff is already trying to stave off the standard assumption of risk defense.

Norman F. Williams, lawyer for Mr. Black, said there is a general view that if you play baseball and get hurt, "you're the author of your own misfortune."

"It's wrong in this case because [Mr. Black] didn't assume all the risk. Dofasco assumed the risk, part of it if not all, by not putting up sun visors to protect him when they knew it was a danger not to do that," he said. "These are not professional ballplayers."

There is evidence that the defendant knew sun was a problem, but the case raises a larger question. At the professional level, companies which build stadiums take into account the angle of the sun. But do amateur baseball field builders consider where the sun is shining when they build their fields? If the plaintiff succeeds in this case, they may need to take it into account.

When should a coach have a written contract? If the coach is my client, the answer is "always." Sometimes, however, from the coach's perspective, he does better without a written deal.

For instance, consider the case of Mike Bellotti, the former Oregon athletic director who recently quit to work for ESPN. He is receiving $2.3 million in severance for quitting. Now reports have surfaced that he never had a written contract.

Oregon had no signed agreement when Bellotti, who was the Ducks' football coach for 14 seasons, took over as athletic director last July. Although previously the university said that terms with Bellotti were negotiated orally with Lariviere, Grier's letter said that was untrue.

This story will play out over the next few weeks and months, as the state authorities in Oregon are investigating. Nevertheless, it is a unique situation that bears watching for coaches and college officials who are let go. The key issue here is that the public is perceiving the employer and not the employee appears to be the so-called “bad guy.”

"This points out exactly what is wrong with executive pay and why there is so much outrage with this around the country," said Frank Glassner, chief executive of Veritas Executive Compensation Consultants in San Francisco. "It's a plain misuse of funds, whether they come from taxpayers or donors."

This statement is a bit of hyperbole, if you ask me. As an agent who represents players and coaches, I would advise them to have their contract in writing. But if they fail to get a written deal, and then they receive a so-called golden parachute anyway, it is not the player or the coach's fault.

Every couple of days I get inquiries from people asking about how to get a job in sports or in sports law. My advice is always to read this blog and about 25 other quality publications every day so you can learn as much as possible, and then try to get several internships while you are in college. Also, have realistic expectations about your career path. You need to start at the bottom, absorb as much as you can, try to carve out a niche for yourself and understand that personal and professional relationships are equally as important as your competence.

For a little more detail on how to get a job in sports, Dan Fitzgerald at Connecticut Sports Law Blog has posted a solid roundup of articles on breaking into the business. It is worthwhile for anyone interested in breaking into the sports business. SportsAgentBlog also has a terrific roundup for anyone looking specifically for an internship with a sports agency.