Rebellious spirits are beloved in music. But Bad Bunny is learning that doesn’t quite work in sports. Since April, the “Baticano” rapper’s sports agency, Rimas Sports, has been engulfed in a heated legal battle with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA).
According to Billboard, on June 5, things were dialed up a notch. In a new filing, the MLBPA outlined several alleged “egregious and systemic violations” to combat Rimas Sports’ discrimination and being targeted by a “pre-determined investigation” claim.
The motion stated that its decision to ban the agency was due to its supposed findings that Rimas gave out improper gifts to players such as VIP concert tickets, granted suite access to prospects at outside sporting events, and extended interest-free loan offers.
“The regulations strictly forbid such inducements,” wrote the union’s lawyers. “Player agents must compete for clients based on the quality of their representation, not the quality of their gifts.”
The representative went on to outline how if the agency’s alleged actions were left unpunished, it could cause damage across the league. “Immunizing Rimas from the consequences of its own bad conduct will harm players and other player agents by encouraging player-player agent relationships borne out of perquisites, not performance,” the rep wrote. “What Rimas seeks is a get out of jail free card for itself. The public has no interest in such an outcome. This kind of conduct became culture at Rimas.”
The agency has not yet responded to MLBPA’s latest motion. However, last month, attorneys for Rimas did issue a statement regarding the union’s initial ruling.
“The ‘good ole boy’ order of baseball sports agency … was being put at risk, as these Puerto Rican ‘outsiders’ were disrupting baseball sports agency order too much, too fast,” wrote Rimas attorneys. “This was something that the MLBPA and Rimas Sports’ competitors would not allow.”
Rimas’ went on to refer to the “extraordinary and unprecedented” measures from the MLBPA as a “death penalty” on its operations. Rimas claimed the ruling killed its deal with then prospect client Ronald Acuña Jr. Those actions being, as outlined by Billboard as, decertification of one of its agent, preventing co-owner and Bad Bunny’s longtime manage Noah Assad from applying for certification, and blocking already certified sports agents from coming aboard the team.
While the MLBPA appears to be stern in its decision, it doesn’t appear this legal fight is over.