Essay B1
Financial manipulation, improper accounting, and fraud are morbid realities of business. In fact, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reveals that an average organization “loses five-percent of its annual revenue to fraud.”1 Containing and eliminating fraud is particularly relevant to the sports representation industry, which I plan to pursue.
From Kirk Wright to Tank Black, the list of “advisors” who have manipulated their relationship with professional athletes is reprehensible. Whether a player’s loss is from fraud or negligence on the agent’s part is irrelevant. It does not change the bottom line. The numbers speak for themselves; from 1999 to 2002, criminal fraud lost 78 NFL players $42 million, and this only includes those cases that have been reported. 2
An agent’s fiduciary duty to his client stretches beyond their responsibilities at the negotiating table. Agents don’t merely determine a player’s value, convince a team to pay it, and then shape the compensation package. They also protect an athlete’s union rights, market a player’s image, locate outside sources of financial advice, and plan for his career after sports. However, one of an agent’s most undervalued and overlooked duties is to protect them from shady business individuals and endeavors.3
One enormous aspect of this, especially given the history between athlete’s and financial manipulation, is loss prevention from both inside and outside the company. An agent is typically the quarterback of a team of experts—lawyers, financial advisors, business managers, and accountants—all charged with maintaining and improving the athlete’s finances and life. Despite the fiduciary duty an agent owes to his client, the instances of deceit are well document...
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... for an agent, and they should be treated as such. We are not like our clients: they have a limited window to earn the compensation they do. It is imperative that an agent protect their money. These are steps (pre-MBA education, of course) that I would take to prevent fraud within my sports agency and allow my clients to have financially secure futures.
Works Cited
1. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 2012 Report to the Nations, PDF e-book, [8], www.acfe.com, accessed October 10, 2013.
2. Marc Isenberg, Money Players: (Los Angeles, CA: A Game, 2007), p. 73.
3. Kenneth L. Shropshire and Timothy Davis, The Business of Sports Agents (Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press).
4. Jack Dorminey, Scott Fleming, Mary-Jo Karnacher, and Richard Riley, Jr., “Beyond the Fraud Triangle,” Fraud Magazine, September/October, 2011, accessed October 10, 2013.
Fraud is one of Canada's most severe acts of financial criminality as the economic impact of this crime could potentially handicap an entire society. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre Annual Statistic Report (CAFC), a report established to monitor fraud with the aid of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and Competition Bureau of Canada, it reported an annual loss of 74 million dollars affecting over 14,472 victims (Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, 2014). Given this alarming statistic, it is worrisome that we as a society still ignore or turn a blind eye towards those who commit fraud as seen in the low conviction (Canada Revenue Agency, 2014), and focus our efforts on petty thefts as seen with the high rate of convictions
Greed and the Death of Professional Sports "Show me the money," screamed Rod. "C'mon Jerry, show me the money!" We vividly remember this famous line from the hit movie, Jerry Maguire. The greedy football player, Rod Tidwell, screams these unforgettable lines trying to convince his agent that he will not settle for any less than a top dollar salary as the flashy Arizona Cardinal wide receiver. This scene exemplifies what has happened to professional sports in recent years.
Divorce, marriages and affairs that lead to child-support and alimony payments are detrimental to a professional athletes finances. The divorce rate for pro athletes ranges from 60-80% which is much higher than the general public. It is highly s...
Professional sports were beginning to be organized in the 1850s. At this point, their salaries, although they were still higher than the average person’s, were not too outrageous. In the 1880s and 90s, baseball players in particular were making on average about $1,750 annually. Even though this was three times the salary of an industrial worker of the time, they were not happy with this amount of money and felt they should be earning more (Baseball n.d.). In the 1970s, the worlds of professional sports took a drastic turn. According to an article by J.L. Carnagie, “Two words described sports in the 1970s: big business. Owners and athletes in major professional team sports knew there was money to be made in their games, and they went after it.” (Carnagie, n.d.) Athletes, especially, realized how competitive teams were becoming, and they were well aware that talent was in high demand. In the beginning of 1980s, the best athletes were demanding even more money; and the majority of the time, they got what they wanted. By end of the 1980s, many athletes were making over a million dollars (Carnagie, n.d.) These increasing salaries were very ironic because when professional sports began they were intended to be a showcase of players’ talent and athletic ability. Professional sports leagues were also supposed to be similar to the Olympics in that they would be free of politics and influence of society. However, by the 80s, they had become all about the star athletes and how much money they could make. By this point, professional sports had evolved into an industry that was focused on entertainment and money, rather than the sports actually being played (Carnagie, n.d.).
Zimbalist, Andrew S. Unpaid Professionals: Commercialism And Conflict In Big-Time College Sports. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
The role of physicians employed by professional sports teams creates conflicts of interest and raises ethical concerns. The team physicians have a moral obligation to promote the health of their patients, but their actions are heavily influenced by outside variables and by the patient’s susceptibility to influence and personal characteristics. The opposing need to protect the athlete’s health and the player’s desire to succeed interferes with the physician’s ability to make ethical decisions and impedes promises to commitments and adopted health care virtues. In this paper, I will discuss how the conflict between moral obligation to individual health and the stress of achievement threatens autonomy and
“College Athletes for Hire, The Evolution and Legacy of the NCAA’s Amateur Myth” written by Allen L. Sack and Ellen J. Staurowsky. In their book, the authors enlighten the reader on such issues as athletic scholarships, professionalism in college sports, and favoritism for athletes as well as many more important legal, and ethical issues that we as a country need to address. In this paper I will not do a standard book report by simply regurgitating the information I read in their book. Instead I will try my best to give you my opinion of the issues previously mentioned, and finally what the authors feel should be done to remedy this dilemma as well as my own opinion on the matter, but first I will discuss the issues involved in athletic scholarships.
Athlete Endorsements – What’s in a Name." The Business of Sports. Wordpress. Web. 12 Sept. 2011.
The United States has an obsession with sports. From little leagues to major leagues, winning is above all and being competitive is important for both coaches and administrators overall success. That is why college recruiting has so many ethical issues today. When universities are able to offer money and other incentives to student-athletes in order to persuade them to enroll with their institution it gives them an advantage some others are not able to offer. Gifting money, cars, clothing, houses, and sometimes even sex take place in order to sway an athlete to one’s school. This issue may not be a problem for all sport managers because there are a few schools that have the money to spend and have no problem offering it to athletes, but most other smaller schools are left in the dust with lower end recruits. Illegal and unethical recruitment affects sport managers and coaches because of the lack of success some may have getting higher end recruits to attend their institution. There is also risk involved for sport managers and coaches through the chance of getting caught doing said illicit acts. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the history of illegal and unethical recruiting as well as my proposed solution to try and limit illegal recruiting.
Abstract: Collegiate athletes participating in the two revenue sports (football, men's basketball) sacrifice their time, education, and risk physical harm for their respected programs. The players are controlled by a governing body (NCAA) that dictates when they can show up to work, and when they cannot show up for work. They are restricted from making any substantial financial gains outside of their sports arena. These athletes receive no compensation for their efforts, while others prosper from their abilities. The athletes participating in the two revenue sports of college athletics, football and men's basketball should be compensated for their time, dedication, and work put forth in their respected sports.
Quirk, James and Rodney D. Fort. Pay Dirt: The Business of Pro Team Sports. Princeton Press: Princeton, 1992.
In the sports world, as much as in the political, social or corporate world, ethics is put to the test at all times. Most athletes spend their career trying to overcome many barriers in order to gain notoriety and achieve good results with the objective of winning titles and, especially, to have great future opportunities, as for example, being awarded with an athletic scholarship.
In recent years, the NBA and “trouble” seem to have become synonymous. In the past year alone, some of the biggest names in basketball have had run-ins with the law. To try to avoid this trouble the National Basketball Association started the NBA rookie transition program ("The problem," 2012). This training program serves to provide knowledge of what players can expect while playing in the NBA and how to balance the pressures and demands that come with their chosen career ("The problem," 2012). The program is cited as only having “modest success” and Harry Edwards, a noted sports psychologist and advisor in Oakland, California said, “I think they ought to send players to those courses every year, every season. It should be like renewing your driver’s license and driving test” ("The problem," 2012). No one disagrees that many professional athletes have problems that are not being resolved, and that reflect negatively on the whole league. NBA players are referred to as “high maintenance” by sports agents and the media. “Basketball players start getting pampered very young” says sports agent, Peter Schaffer. “Twelve and 13-year-olds are being brought to training camps, they get free shoes, they’re deemed to be special at an early age” ("The problem," 2012). The $475,000 rookie minimum is more than 10 times the starting salary for a college graduate and rookies are typically in their early 20’s ("The problem," 2012). Over the last decade, high salaries have had a variety of negative effects on NBA players including, the way the law is viewed, bankruptcy, family values, and production. Sometimes, these things ruin their career, or more accurately the way they earn a living.
ABSTRACT: The quantity of accounting fraud cases keeps on rising. Fraud is a consistent thing that will reliably be around, and in a bigger number of routes than just a single. An extensive apportionment of organizations out there fighting fraud, either from within the organization, or from outside the organization. Knowing how to manage this is essential for an organization to be productive over an extended period of time. The investigation regarding the matter of accounting fraud will utilize sources from the web and the DeVry School Library.
Ethical and moral quandaries are present at all levels of organized sports (DeSensi, 2010). Athletic directors and sporting managers face many demands each day surrounding their job responsibilities; budgets, parents, coaches, student-athletes, office personal, facility management, public relations. Each of these areas and many more require a considerate, level minded, comprehensive ethical and moral response when a challenge arises to develop an equitable response and solution (DeSensi, 2010). Hence, having a plan of action to handle ethical and moral issues may be essential to creating a culture of integrity in athletic organization.