Rimas Sports files lawsuit against MLBPA over recent sanctions

The Rimas Sports agency has filed a federal lawsuit against the MLB Players Association in United States District Court in Puerto Rico, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. The lawsuit is related to recent sanctions that the union placed on the agency.

It was reported in April 2023 that the sports management agency had been launched by three individuals affiliated with the Rimas Entertainment music label. Those three were Rimas Entertainment CEO Noah Assad, his client Bad Bunny and Rimas executive Jonathan Miranda.

Almost exactly one year later, in April 2024, it was reported by various outlets that the agency was facing sanctions from the MLBPA for violating agency regulations. 

Multiple other agencies filed complaints against Rimas, alleging that the firm had been offering gifts such as new cars or large sums of cash to players as an inducement to switch their representation. 

Additionally, individuals who were not yet certified as agents represented themselves as such and acted in that capacity.

Per the reporting from last month, it was expected that those individuals were not going to be certified as a result of the complaints while William Arroyo had his certification revoked. 

Back in April, Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic reported that Michael Velasquez and Arroyo were believed to be the only two certified agents with Rimas.

According to Passan’s report from Thursday, Rimas initially took their complaints to an arbiter, who turned them down. This 27-page complaint seeks a temporary restraining order and injunction against the penalties imposed by the union. The suit charges that the MLBPA “exceeded the scope of its statutory authority under the National Labor Relations Act.”

According to the suit, Velasquez was threatened with decertification and quit the company. With Velasquez quitting and Arroyo having his certification revoked, that left Rimas with no one with the right to represent players. 

Per the lawsuit, entertainment attorneys Oswaldo Rossi, John Baldivia and Jimmy Barnes were seeking certification but were told by an MLBPA lawyer that “certifications will be conditioned on your agreement not to work for or with Rimas Sports, represent Rimas Sports clients.” 

The suit describes this as an “unprecedented condition imposed on them (that) is not part of the MLBPA Regulations” and says that “the intended effect of the MLBPA’s actions was precisely to eliminate the Rimas Companies from participating altogether in the sports agency market for MLB and MiLB players.”

It also accuses the MLBPA of “blanketly prohibiting any MLBPA certified agents from affiliating with Rimas Sports and Rimas Entertainment in any capacity.” 

They say this will prevent Rimas Entertainment, the non-sports part, from “contracting with clients who may wish to secure branding, sponsorship or endorsement deals” and that “these restrictions extend well beyond the scope of the MLBPA’s authority to regulate its agents.” 

Topps, the card company, evidently told Rimas that it was unable to discuss sponsorship deals relating to its clients.

Before the sanctions, Rimas was able to attract some recognizable big league names to its roster, including Francisco Alvarez, Ezequiel Tovar, Wilmer Flores and his brother Wilmer Flores. 

The most notable contract Rimas completed in the year after its forming was the seven-year, $63.5M extension for Tovar. The lawsuit lists the inability to continue negotiating an extension for Alvarez among the harms done to the company by the MLBPA, as well as losing the opportunity to sign Ronald Acuna Jr.