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Desi Relaford Bashes Beverly Hills Sports Council

Desi Relaford

Earlier this week, Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight interviewed former MLB player, Desi Relaford.  Jimmy gave me a tip to check it out because the topic turned to Desi’s agents.  Instead of listening to the long clip, I started in that particular area of conversation, which begins around the 27 minute mark.

Desi originally signed Beverly Hills Sports Council before switching to Professional Sports Planners later in his career.  When Desi was released by Colorado in 2005, his relationship with BHSC started to become rocky.  It would take him a couple weeks to a couple months to get calls back from the agency.  Desi felt like he was low on the totem pole, which he says happens to a lot of BHSC clients as their careers begin to start declining.  Desi believed he still had it in him to play professional ball and did not feel as though the two agents (he does not mention specific names) designated to him were truly supporting his cause.  He dropped BHSC and found his next MLB job with the help of his wife.  Desi said that he needed to make a change on representation and that it did not matter who he signed with.  He switched to PSP and is still with them to this day.

Desi Relaford made some strong accusations against BHSC and completely dissed the company’s professionalism.  He mentioned that there was a time where he didn’t talk to his agents for 6 months, even though he had made many efforts to reach out to them.

I bet you Barry Bonds does not feel the same way about BHSC.  I cannot remember a week in the past year that there was not an article published in some paper about Jeff Borris (agent at BHSC) complaining about MLB teams colluding against Bonds.  I bet Desi and others wish they had the same kind of treatment.

And for some old school Desi…

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

5 replies on “Desi Relaford Bashes Beverly Hills Sports Council”

That’s pathetic when an agent starts ignoring his own client just because the client is no longer a front-line player.

Inexcusable treatment from BHSC, if true. No client, no matter what the practice, should wait no more than 24 hours for a call back. In sports especially, responsiveness is central to the quality of representation.

Now…Let's just wait a few seconds people. This is one sided. He says they did not call back for 6 months. I bet it went both ways! They probably played phone tag. His career started going down…OF COURSE they are going to deal with their top clients first. EVERYONE does it that way. BHSC would not be around if they didnt talk with clients for 6 months. They still maintain a GREAT reputation….therefore lets not jump to conclusions. Yes, if they did it, inexcusable. There needs to be another article by BHSC before any accusations are made

This may be old but it’s sad and true, and once you leave BHSC don’t ever try to say a polite hello to them as they will show their true colors and you’ll suddenly realize your ex-agent was a jerk all along.

I am also an ex-client of Beverly Hills Sports Council and the same treatment was given to me as my career started declining. As a matter of fact I only knew they were no longer representing me when I got a letter stating they were no longer handling my tax needs and I should retain an accountant to handle that. At which time I placed several calls to them and never received a phone call back. And that is where my career ended. I was only in the big leagues for 3 years but definitely feel I had more time in me. I wish I would have looked into a different agency but unfortunately did not know how to go about it.

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