A former University of North Carolina football player has been arrested for violating North Carolina’s Uniform Athletes Agents Act, which is designed to force agents to register with the Secretary of State’s office, and to punish those sports agents who seek to induce or influence college athletes in the state.
Christopher Hawkins was kicked off the UNC football team in 2004 as a player. He was subsequently disassociated from the program after the NCAA concluded during the investigation of memorabilia dealing by former Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green that Hawkins was acting as a prospective agent.
On this occasion, Hawkins was charged with trying to induce former North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn to sign a contract with him in 2010 — by giving Quinn $13,700 in cash and helping him sell game-used equipment for another $1,700. Hawkins was also charged with contacting former UNC defensive back Jabari Price through Instagram in 2013, even though he was not a registered agent.
Hawkins is the sixth person to be charged with violating state law as a result of contact with North Carolina athletes.
Agent Weighs In
“Agent laws are well intentioned,” Jack Mills of Ascent Sports & Entertainment told Sports Litigation Alert. “Union regulations help as well. But enforcement is the key to getting compliance. And getting credible information will always be the challenge for enforcement.”
He added that he “would like to think that this is not the norm. But the fact is there seems to be some type of financial inducement involved in almost every recruitment these days. It’s very difficult to get a serious meeting with a top prospect unless there is a monetary component: combine training, stipends, loans, marketing guarantees, discounted fees, etc.”
