Question

“Third Party Agents”

Please read the article and answer the questions that are at the bottom.

Third party agents are often used to represent our interests in the negotiation process. We use them as we believe that their expertise as negotiators well better serve our goals and achieve better results. Many agents are paid on a commission basis. As a consequence, they can be very concerned about a negotiated outcome because of what they might derive from the negotiation. Their influence and effectiveness in the outcome also directly relates to the reputation they stand to gain or lose as a negotiator.

In the late 1980’s in the Unites States, sport’s agents Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom succeeded in signing approximately 43 athletes to contracts. The contracts were signed in a manner to make it appear that the athletes had signed after completing their last year of eligibility, and before they turned pro. This was a rule mandated by the governing body, the NCAA, which had expressly forbidden that players be allowed to sign contracts before their last year of eligibility had finished.

To get the players to sign illegally, the agents induced the players by enticing them with tickets for concerts, airline flights, automobiles, cash payments to the athletes and their families, hotel accommodations, limousines, clothing, and more. This all transpired when the players were in their last year of college which is the same as the last year of eligibility. The agents had in reality signed these players buy using post-dated contracts where the agents received exclusive rights to represent the players when they turned pro. The contracts were made to appear as if the players had signed after the completion of their last eligibility year.

Some of the illegally signed players who had signed with these agents tried to revoke their contracts. The two sports agents proceeded to pressure at least four of the players who wanted to revoke their contracts by threatening that they would never play their sport again. As things came to a head, it began to seep out publicly that these players had not only been courted by the agents during the last year of their eligibility, but that they had signed their contracts before completing their final year of eligibility.

Eventually, these two agents were charged when word reached legal authorities. The charges included an eight count indictment for racketeering, conspiracy to commit extortion, and mail fraud, just to name a few.

Additionally, Lloyd Bloom was accused of defrauding one of the players out of $150,000 dollars by convincing him to invest 1/3 of his signing bonus into a credit business. In truth, it appears that Bloom applied the money to lease a Rolls Royce, pay off some bills, his ex-wife’s rent and karate classes.

Third party agents are essential to the business transactions we engage in every day. Most people simply don’t have the expertise to properly and thoroughly engage in some of our transactions and partnerships. However, agents often have privy to more information than one or more of the parties involved in a business negotiation or transaction. Their interests can sometimes run contrary to our own, so we must be cautious when we subscribe to their specialized knowledge. We need to keep track of what they are doing, or else we run the risk of being a victim of fraud.

Type your answer to each question fully in sentence/paragraph form at least 4-5 sentences.

1. What actions did the agents take when they signed the players that should have signaled the players that something was not right?
2. Define racketeering and extortion and explain why these changes were made against the agents. (Hint: bribery is associated with racketeering)
3. What evidence suggests that the players knew what was going on? What evidence suggests that to some extent, the players were naïve?
4. Do you think the players should be charged with ethics violations? Why or why not? What should their punishment be if they are charged?

Answer 1

Hey, I've already answered this question. I'm pasting that here for your reference:

Answer-1- There are many methods to convince and negotiate with people. One technique is to tackle people with several offerings. When the agents offered tickets of concerts, airline flights, cash payment, clothing and other things to the players for signing the contract, they should understood that something was not right.

Answer-2- Racketeering refers to a planned crime. In this, people get involved in a fraudulant business to earn illegal money repeatedly. Extortion is another form of obtaining money or property from people or organizations using force or pressure.

These charges were made against the agents becaue they were involved in illegal activities and they also threatened the players who wanted to revoke their accounts that they would never play their sport again.

Answer-3- The agents made the contract in a manner that it appeared signed by the athlete after their last year of eligibility which was not true. Beside this, they offered bribe to the players for signing the contract. All these things suggest that players knew what was going on. On the other hand, players tried to revoke their contract when they realized the truth. This shows that to some extent the players were naive but they were not completely innocent in this process of fraud.

Answer-4- Yes, I think the players should be charged with ethics violations because to some extent they knew about the policy of the agents and then also they didn't refuse but signed the contract.This can be considered as a crime. The players should be banned for sometime to make them realize that it was not the right way to get success. They can also get their licenses ceased both for local and international matches.

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