SHOULD PLAYERS UNIONS CERTIFY SPORTS AGENTS ?

Lisa Robinson

By Scary Barry Rodriguez          

Shawn Corey Carter, AKA Jay Z

November 10, 2013


When the JAY Z interview by Lisa Robinson in the November issue of Vanity Fair, came to my attention it caused me to question how any Players Union in this case the MLBPA, could legitimately control the antics of sports agents thus faithfully protect the interests of the individual players !

 
Let me digress for a moment. In my  article of October 17, 2013 titled " JAY Z THE SPORTS AGENT-SAY WHAT ? " , I mentioned the Vanity Fair article because Shawn Corey Carter, AKA Jay Z, touted about how his background as a crack dealer was a legitimate reason he could be a good sports agent. Being thorough I checked the MLBPA , NBPA and NFLPA union rules concerning " certified sports agents . My investigation revealed that JAY Z was not qualified !

Scott Boras

Robinson Cano

Then I ascertained that JAY Z , the owner of the ROC NATION agency , violated these rules by giving an expensive watch to his client Robinson Cano , at a extremely high end party attended by other jockstars !Not resting on his laurels JAY Z has engaged in a nonstop campaign of bad mouthing Scott Boras , the top dog agent, who formerly represented Cano, in his rap song titled " Crown ".

Michael Weiner

Michael Weiner the president of the MLBPA then announced that the situation was under investigation for the alleged violation concerning agents giving gifts to their clients. It turns out that the Scary one was totally naive about the true state of affairs concerning the player unions and their blatant lack of oversite when it comes to player's agents ! 

The watch given to Robinson Cano was valued above $ 33,000 but this is a mere pittance compared to some of the other gifts such as Mercedes- Benz cars bestowed on other clients. All this is documented on the internet by numerous pictures. Its completely over the top ! So where is the MLBPA while this is going on ?

It begs the question , is the Fox watching the chicken coop ? All the wide eyed jockstars mingling with the celebrities , accepting lavish gifts, as the sports agents compete in mortal business combat ! With all the stories in the media about Jockstars losing their shirts in financial deals gone bad, one would think that the various players unions would be up front carefully scrutinizing the qualifications of applicants for certified sports agents. Then once these applicants are certified , including all the player representatives with player contract negotiating responsibilities , the players unions have the legal obligation to monitor their conduct ! Right ! 

Chris Paul

Drew Rosenhaus

Take , the NBPA under the leadership of jockstar player Chris Paul. He is a elbow rubbing friend of JAY Z and other entertainers. So how can he objectively monitor whats going on ? Presently a large group of NFL players are suing a financial advisor , who came recommended to them by Drew Rosenhaus , another powerhouse sports agent . The scandal involves over 40 million dollars ! Its not just the NFLPA at fault. The NFL also has some responsibility for the sad situation.

Clearly the financial interests of professional baseball players , basketball players and football players are all at risk ! The question then becomes , if the players unions can't do the job who can ? Long ago as the great William Shakespeare stated " aye theres the rub ! ". That is the sixty four million dollar question. The active players are giving each other high fives and wearing massive bling around their necks while unbeknownst to them their fortunes are going south. In a fit of envy I'm not going to just say they deserve it ! All that glitters is not gold !

BarryRodriguez (c) 2013. All Rights Reserved.

Page layout arrangement by Magic Merlin Paul Malolot