Is the playing field level for Black female sports agents? The numbers indicate that there are too few Sisters representing athletes

Ebony, June, 2005 by Kimberly Davis

THE professional sports locker room. While it's a place that has been de-mystified somewhat by journalists and broadcasters, there's still something almost "other" about it. Indeed, for sports agents looking to sign new clients, this is the proving ground--the place where deals and careers can be made or broken.

As one of the last bastions of the good old boy network, the locker room, per se, is being infiltrated--slowly--by Black female sports agents who are bringing their expertise to the game. For instance, Kimberly N. Trammell and Sharon Creer are two Sisters who are taking sports representation to the next level--wheelin' and dealin' behind the scenes for the athletes they represent.

But they are among the exceptions. While the numbers aren't absolute, and it's hard to pin down exactly how many African-American women are having any measure of success, there are roughly 25 women out of more than 1,000 agents registered with the Black Sports Agents Association, according to Chairman Andre Farr. Although many women may refer to themselves as agents, it's the ones with client rosters who count.

Those client rosters have been difficult for Sisters to establish, but agents like Trammell and Creer have beaten the odds. For Trammell, president and CEO of Icon Management Inc., success came first with baby steps, beginning with the signing of her first client, Olympic hurdler Terrence Trammell, her brother-in-law. A native of Norfolk Va., and a lawyer by training, Trammell got her start working on Capitol Hill for Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) before moving to Atlanta and signing on with LaFace Records, where she became vice president of business and legal affairs.

At first, Trammell says, she was reluctant to enter the sports industry. She'd left Washington, D.C., she says, because politics had a tendency to clash with her Christian ideals. But God had a different plan for her, even though she didn't have a sports background, and the clients kept coming. She now has a roster of 11 track and field athletes. "I probably was reluctant because of fear of unknown territory," says Trammell, who includes a focus on the marketing potential of her clients outside their sport. "But then it really [started] to make sense for me, and piece by piece I put together my company."

With her office in the tony Buckhead section of Atlanta, Trammell gets her business by word-of-mouth and meeting people. All of her clients are currently in track and field, including Shawn Crawford, 200-meter gold medalist at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Signing with Trammell a couple of years ago, Crawford says, has meant "Mo' money, mo' money, mo' money. She has a great business attitude, and she is just a positive person," Crawford says, referring to the reasons he hired Trammell. "I was going through some rocky times with my [former] agent at that time, and [Kim] made a lot of deals and things come through for me."

Although Crawford appreciates the sponsorships and TV appearances, Trammell's motives are different. "It's not about the money for me. It's never been about the money," says Trammell, who has gained a reputation for taking on the "untouchable" athletes. "It's about helping these athletes fulfill their dreams."

Like Trammell, Creer is also getting clients to sign on the dotted line. Working from the West Coast, Creer, president and founder of Sharon Creer Sports Management, has made a name for herself with a roster of pro athletes in the United States and overseas. Her current client list includes 14 athletes, including Tiffani Johnson, who plays for the WNBA world champion Houston Comets, San Antonio Star Toccara Williams, former NBA All-Star Darryl Dawkins, and former USBL Pennsylvania Valley Dawg Will Levy.

Prior to launching her business in 1998, Creer worked as a sports psychologist consultant at Richmond High School and as a recording engineer at the Starlight Sound Studio, where she worked on recording projects by Miles Davis, En Vogue and Sheila E.

Creer, who lives in Hercules, Calif., and has a master's degree in sports psychology, says she takes a holistic approach to sports management, integrating finance and whole-life stability with negotiating contracts. She wants to make sure that her clients are healthy and stable for the rest of their lives. And while it hasn't been easy, it's been worth it, and she credits her mentor, Black superagent Bill Duffy, with opening a lot of doors.

"It's an everyday struggle, but it's one that I welcome every day. I can't go into a locker room after a game; I'm the one who has to wait outside. These male agents have the 'in' that way [when it comes to recruiting]," says Creer, who is single and has never played organized sports. "Of course, there's always going to be the locker room mentality, you just have to fight through it."

And even though the culture is changing (more athletes are in the driver's seat making the deals and more Sisters are on the come-up), Creer doesn't see that as a threat--just a necessary evolution. "As athletes are getting more into their business, they're not as dependent on the agent, they're asking questions," Creer says. "I'm really proud when my clients do that. These are skills that will help them later in life."