Remus Sports, the sports agency co-founded by pop star Bad Bunny, committed a “series of significant violations” in its dealings with baseball players, according to the Major League Baseball Players Association, which detailed the allegations in federal court in Puerto Rico this week, The Athletic’s Evan Drellich reports.
Among Limas’s inappropriate conduct were providing a $200,000 interest-free loan to a player the agency was seeking to recruit as a client and giving a $19,500 gift to another player who signed with the organization.
Other incentives listed in a memorandum filed with the court by the MLB Players Association included Limas representatives giving non-client players VIP tickets to Bad Bunny shows and access to luxury suites at Phoenix Suns games.
In April, the MLB Players Association disbarred Limas agent William Arroyo after investigating complaints from other agents that he was giving improper benefits to unrepresented players. Two of Limas’ co-founders, Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda, were also barred from being authorized to represent MLB Players Association members.
Limas’ most high-profile client is Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr., who reportedly signed with the firm in May. Other players Limas has represented include Wilmer Flores of the San Francisco Giants, Francisco Alvarez of the New York Mets and Ronny Mauricio and Santiago Espinal of the Cincinnati Reds.
Bad Bunny’s sports agency, Rimas Sports, has signed an exclusive deal with MLB superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. 🔥🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/BjolqYOdck
— Bad Bunny Network (@badbunnynetwork) May 16, 2024
From a layman’s perspective, the incentives offered by Limas don’t seem all that far-fetched compared to what other sports agencies have done to attract potential clients, but there may be formal procedures followed to recruit and sign clients that Limas did not.
The argument, upheld by the arbitrator, appears to be that the agency was acting beyond the scope of what is normally permitted to acquire players, especially when Limas is being funded by Bad Bunny, the best-selling Latin artist in U.S. history.
Limas countered in federal court, arguing that the company’s activities were unfairly scrutinized in “discriminatory, biased and pre-ordained investigations” that sought to put it out of business, The Athletic reported. Limas argued that revoking Arroyo’s license and barring Assad and Miranda from officially representing the company would be tantamount to a “death sentence” for the company.
