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No Tolerance Policy – SPORTS AGENT BLOG
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Coaches Recruiting Sports Agents Sports Law

No Tolerance Policy

This past Friday, Sports Agent Charles Taplin was arrested for trying to gain information about and contact student athletes at Louisiana State University [LSUPD charges ‘agent’ in WCA]. The arrest is for “violating a Louisiana law that regulates sports agents and their contact with athletes.”

But the story gets worse. Travelle Gaines, an assistant strength coach at LSU, was also arrested for telling athletes at his school to sign with Mr. Taplin [LSU assisat coach arrested for helping sports agent].

This story makes two important points:

1) There are a lot of shady people in the sports industry, and there definitely exists relationships where NCAA coaches and Sports Agents benefit off of each other’s closeness with particular athletes.

2) If caught, the legal system will have no remorse for your actions. The punishment for violation of the law may be prison time. Is that worth it?

Update (10/25/06): It appears that ESPN may have been incorrect in relating the arrest of Mr. Gaines to the arrest of agent Charles Taplin.  According to police reports, C.J. Laboy of Octagon was present at Mr. Gaines’ household when athletes were invited over, and he pursued those athletes later for a more personal meeting.

[tags]charles taplin, lsu, travelle gaines, Louisiana state, sports agent[/tags]

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.

One reply on “No Tolerance Policy”

Are they serious? There are more agents than ants at LSU, and the corruption makes the mob look honest. The only thing those guys did is not pay off anyone so they got ran out of town. Everything ever reported is that no one got any money. No good dead goes unpunished at LSU.

Now, how is it that the players are going with the agents that just happen to be the same agents and past and present coaches? How did that intro happen. How is it that some of the top players now have five cars? Those are facts — doubts? Look up the coaches’ agents and watch who the LSU players sign with. Done deal.

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