The following article is a guest contribution by Benjamin Haynes, Esq. Haynes is a former Division 1 Basketball Player at Oral Roberts University and currently practices law in the State of Florida.
A sports agent’s duty is to advocate for his client and put his client in a position to be successful both on and off the field. With that duty also comes responsibility on the part of the agent to educate himself and to maintain discipline. An agent needs to be proactive and also refrain from certain conduct at the same time. Social media could be used to thrust an athlete’s career forward as well. By putting themselves out there and connecting with people on platforms like TikTok, their fans are able to see them in a different light. As they already have fan followings, it could be very unlikely that they’d need to use something like these TikTok automation services to help them to grow their account. Many people from around the world use social media and in most circumstances, this is a positive thing. However, with the various social media avenues available, there are certain topics an agent needs to refrain from speaking about.
For this article, Sports Agent Blog interviewed Travis Martz. Martz is a sports agent and the Vice President/General Counsel at Business Arena Football and also has his license to practice law in Maryland. Business Arena Football is a Sports Agency that provides a variety of services for NFL players. Part of Business Arena’s mission is to provide “unparalleled personal attention and relevant services that focus on the client’s physical, mental and financial health.”
Travis Martz was brought into Business Arena because of his in-depth legal expertise. Further, Travis is “tweeting” quite often, and therefore is a perfect candidate for the below Q&A:
Q: With regards to social media, what are some topics you believe agents should try to refrain from discussing?
Travis: Agents should refrain from speaking poorly about other agents, players or NFL roster moves. What goes around comes around. Agents should also refrain from using Twitter as a personal self-glorification medium. I block a ton of people that only promote themselves.
Q: In what ways have you used social media in order to benefit one of your athletes?
Travis: I like to highlight my clients’ business pursuits outside of football. That’s why we are called Business Arena. I just started showcasing current and former clients’ non-football passions on my website blog and Twitter. I hope that will help them build their brand in the modern workforce.
Q: Do you direct your clients to refrain from certain activity on social media?
Travis: Yes. I tell all clients not to discuss teams they are visiting for work-outs or interviews. The teams do not want that information broadcasted, and I have a reputation to protect. I also tell clients to make their tweets relevant and interesting. The goal is to accumulate followers, not lose them with random drivel.
Q: Further, have you encouraged your athletes to engage in social media, and if you have, in what ways?
Travis: I let my clients develop their own brand on their own pace. I’m not going to force someone to use social media if it’s not their thing. If clients want to engage such services, then I work with them to focus their message and speak to different audience bases on a relevant, intriguing and responsible platform.
Â
