They ratify a sanction against Bad Bunny’s agency, RIMAS Sports, and they must pay almost half a million dollars

The legal process that faced RIMAS Sports, Bad Bunny’s agency and other investors that represents Major League players, came to an end with the ratification of a million-dollar fine of 4,000 thousand dollars and disqualification of part of its team from acting as agents in Major League Baseball (MLB)-

The process, which had been going on since March of this year in a New York court, investigated the company’s movements to try to secure potential agreements with players who are not part of or did not have a contract with the agency.

With gifts and incentives that included cash, tickets to Bad Bunny concerts, t-shirts, watches and even loans, RIMAS hoped to close new player representation contracts, in a series of actions that culminated with the beginning of the investigation into the MLB Players Association (MLBPA).

According to MLB statutes, gifting, rewarding or rewarding any athlete belonging to the MLB system without them being part of a representation agency is illegal and cannot be used as a recruitment method.

Regarding the case that ended up being a pillar of the investigation, RIMAS offered a loan for 200 thousand dollars, made a gift with a value of 19,500 dollars, gave away VIP tickets for Bad Bunny concerts and other shows such as the NBA and the games of Phoenix Suns.

The issue brought reactions in Puerto Rico such as that of the President of the Institute of Economic Freedom for the island, Jorge L. Rodríguez, who ironically said that Bad Bunny campaigned against the alleged corruption that exists in Puerto Rico, but that he through his company did the same.

“And this is not corruption???,” Rodríguez said with part of the text of the statement.

A single public name of RIMAS Sports among those punished

The investigation did not reveal the names of the process but it was RIMAS itself that assumed that benefits occurred to those involved on up to four occasions.

The first case was when 13 players who were not part of RIMAS received tickets to a Bad Bunny concert in Puerto Rico on December 20, 2021; others attended a Phoenix show on March 6, 2022, while a March 30, 2022 concert in Orlando and an NBA Phoenix Suns matchup on March 4, 2022 hosted more than 10 players for each event.

“There can be no doubt … that the overwhelming evidence supports a ruling in favor of the MLBPA,” the judge, Ruth Moscovitch, said in the public document.

It had been in March of this year when RIMAS sued the MLBPA for allegedly preventing them from reaching agreements with figures such as the MVP of the National League in 2023, Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves) and Francisco Álvarez (New York Mets) and also for supposedly interfering in the contract between company and player.

In the end, they gave the reason to the Players Association and in addition to the financial fine, two agents (who were not mentioned) will not be able to be part of the organization and represent players for the next five years while the only one who was released The identity, William Arroyo, was punished for three.

MLB is strict with its policies and for the slightest broken rule they impose sanctions, regardless of whether the person involved in the case is a player, manager or agent.

Proof of this was the investigation against Shohei Ohtani and his agent, related to sports betting, who, regardless of the status of the Japanese’s top figure in the Major Leagues, had to face a process in which he received no sanction as it was proven that he was not the one who invested. money in betting houses.

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