By Darren Heitner
Edwin Mejia did anything and everything for Aroldis Chapman ever since Chapman defected from the Cuban national team. Mejia became a jet-setter, traveling to the Netherlands, Spain, and eventually to Andorra, where Chapman established residency. This was Mejia’s huge fish since he had never represented a player on any 40-man roster in the past. Chapman was his “in” to become MLBPA licensed and to receive a nice chunk of change in commissions based on the contract Chapman will be signing sometime in the future. But then Aroldis Chapman switched from Athletes Premier International to the Hendricks Brothers.
Recently, ESPN Senior Writer, Jorge Arangure, let the world know that API would not sit idly:
API, Chapman’s previous firm, will soon send out a release announcing a lawsuit they filed today in Massachusetts against Hendricks Brothers
Lawsuit alleges Hendricks tortiously interfered with API’s representation of Chapman
Five hours later, Jimmy Golen of the Associated Press had enough information to run a full story:
The lawsuit accuses Hendricks of tortious interference and unjust enrichment, claiming that Athletes Premier “invested substantial time and hundreds of thousands of dollars” on Chapman’s behalf to help him defect, establish residency in Andorra and begin negotiating with major league teams.
API should have no problem proving that (1) Aroldis Chapman and API had a valid business relationship based on the assumption that Edwin Mejia had Chapman sign some sort of paperwork establishing the relationship, (2) The Hendricks Brothers knowing that Chapman and API had a relationship, since it was publicized in many major media outlets, and (3) Damages resulting from Chapman’s switch to the Hendricks Brothers.
However, there will be two key areas that should persuade the result of the case: (1) Did the Hendricks Brothers intentional interference cause Chapman to leave API, and (2) If so, were their actions justified? If Chapman reached out to the Hendricks Brothers, the case is closed and API has no chance in court. However, if the Hendricks Brothers intentionally contacted Chapman with the purpose of tearing him away from API, a court will likely view that as intentional interference, and it is doubtful that there would be any justification for that action.
File this under “Saw this one coming.” While I have a problem respecting any agency that uses very shady, unethical tactics to recruit players, I must feel some sorrow for Edwin Mejia and Athletes Premier International. After all, he and his company put their time, money…lives…into Aroldis Chapman, only to be burned before their big payday.
This will be very interesting to watch. It is rare to find an agency vs. agency matter make it to court. These problems are usually handled by the players’ associations and little details make it to the public. If this lawsuit is not settled, it has the potential to add solid new precedent for sports law scholars to peruse. API has retained the law firm of Greenberg Traurig as its attorneys for this case.
Darren Heitner is the CEO of Dynasty Athlete Representation. He can be reached at dheitner@dynastyreps.com
