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Gary Wichard Dealing With Draft Week And Pending Lawsuit

Earlier today, Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Daily, reported that Gary Wichard and his company, Pro Tect Management, are being sued by his former client, Brian Bosworth.  Bosworth is claiming that Wichard caused him to lose over $2 million based on referring Bosworth to a financial advisor (Judd Rothman of Rothman & Rothman in Patchogue, NY) who Wichard knew had engaged in fraudulent activity in the past.  Bosworth additionally notes that Wichard was receiving some sort of compensation for referring clients to Rothman.  The fact that Rothman has done business under the name of Pro Tect Business Management will not play in Wichard’s favor when he tries to distance himself as much as possible from whatever Rothman’s business practices entailed.

The timing of the filing of the lawsuit is interesting.  It was filed exactly one week prior to the first day of the 2010 NFL Draft.  If you take a look at many mock drafts, Pro Tect Management is leading all agencies in first round selections.  As I noted in January, Gary Wichard is on fire.  Amongst his draft-eligible clients are Arrelious Benn (Illlinois), Jimmy Clausen (Notre Dame), Everson Griffen (USC), Taylor Mays (USC), and C.J. Spiller (Clemson).

While I do not anticipate the filing of the lawsuit by Brian Bosworth affecting Wichard’s status with any of his draft-eligible clients, it will be interesting to see what kind of consequences (if any) it has on his future business.

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.

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