Scoring with multimillion dollar contracts - black athletic agents - Blacks in Sports: The Last Frontiers

Ebony, August, 1992 by Lynn Norment

On the other hand, recurring horror stories about stellar athletes getting ripped off by advisors actually inspired other Black attorneys to get involved. Overall, Black agents are optimistic that racist attitudes are changing and that more Black athletes win seek their services. They say that some parents, many of whom came of age in the '60s, and the youthful athletes themselves are exhibiting more social awareness and keeping tighter reins on their affairs. "Now we see brothers wearing Malcolm X hats and becoming more Afrocentric," says David Ware, who represents 20 NFL players. "Awareness is heightened about the need to participate in the Black community. You can't walk around with an X hat on and all that and be inconsistent by having an all-White management team."

Also encouraging is the increasing number of athletes who actually seek out Black sports agents, or at least give them an opportunity to compete. Henry Thomas met Tim Hardaway when Thomas coached Chicago's Carver High School basketball team during summers. He became Tim's mentor and kept in touch after the youth went away to college. When Hardaway went pro, he asked Thomas to negotiate his contract. Barry Sanders was encouraged by his father to sign with a Black agent. He narrowed his choices down to two, and then decided to sign them both. Marco Coleman already had decided he wanted a Black agent when he met Brian Ransom at a seminar at Georgia Tech. The two "hit it off' and Ransom, as Coleman's agent, got the star athlete a multi-million-dollar contract with the Miami Dolphins.

Charles Grantham, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, says athletes today are more sophisticated due to media attention and million-dollar salaries and, consequently, expect agents to do more than just negotiate contracts and collect their 4 percent fees. "Today's agent must be multifaceted- and players need a "team approach" to handling their affairs, he says. They need managers who can help them make a smooth transition from college sports to the professional leagues, someone who can help plan for second careers, manage money and taxes, and understand the social responsibility inherent in being a role model.

The agent's influence in an athlete's life overall is pervasive. The agent usually signs on an accountant, investment advisor, real estate expert and marketing specialist, all at the athlete's expense. If the agent is not an attorney, a legal counsel also is needed. "The salary cap rules read like the IRS code of 1954," says Slaughter, who is also a UCLA sports law professor. In past years agents, most of whom were White, would tell the Black athlete, "You just play; Ill handle everything else," as they steered all the athlete's business and money to their relatives and friends. In many cases the athlete had no idea where his money was going or how much he had at any given time. Very little of the money--if any--went back into the community.

"The Black athlete has been underserved in the past," says Ransom, explaining that many Black athletes are not being "guided" into giving back to the community. However, he didn't have to do any guiding with his client Marco Coleman of the Miami Dolphins. "I decided I wanted a Black agent because one of the things that can help our people progress is to give our business to our people," says Coleman. "I couldn't have the same relationship with a White man as I have with a Black man."