Major League Baseball Players Association Wants Bad Bunny’s Company Held in Contempt!

My students introduced me to Bad Bunny in my first year teaching at Oklahoma City University. I loved the Bad Bunny mask they gave me. I can’t say that I’ve become a fan, but only because I’m not a fan of any contemporary musicians, other than the incomparable Sarah Dooley. But Bad Bunny’s music and his success make my students happy, so I root for him.

And so, it gives me no pleasure to report that Bad Bunny’s sports agency outfit, Rimas Sports (Rimas), has been held in contempt by a federal District Court in Puerto Rico. I mean, I know “bad” is his brand, but he never struck me as contemptuous. The cases have been a bit hard to locate, so here’s what I’ve been able to piece together from press reports.

According to the Associated Press, a dispute arose when the Major League Baseball Players Association (the Association) issued a notice of discipline and a $400,000 fine against two Rimas agents for allegedly providing improper inducements to players to try to get them to choose Rimas as their agency, allowing uncertified people to act as agents and various other misdeeds. The next chapters in the story are provided in the Association’s motions for sanctions in Diamond Sports, LLC v. Major League Baseball Players Association.

In May, Rimas sued the Association in federal court. The Association moved to compel arbitration through a specialized arbitral body designated as appropriate in the regulations governing authorized agents. Rimas claimed that the regulations applied to individuals and not to agencies, but the district court disagreed and granted the Association’s motion in August. Rimas responded by seeking arbitration through a different arbitral body, under different rules, in a different venue from what the court ordered. Worse, Rimas represented in its arbitral finding that the arbitration was ordered by the court.  The Association responded with a motion for sanctions.

In September, as reported in the Associated Press, the court granted the Association’s motion and sanctioned Rimas. I note that none of the material I looked through mentioned Bad Bunny, except as a founder of Rimas. Unless I hear otherwise, I will continue to believe that the bunny in question did nothing bad, or at least nothing contemptuous.