Photo Credit: Bad Bunny’s Instagram
The MLB Players Association asks to hold Bad Bunny’s sports agency in contempt of court as the messy legal battle escalates.
The contentious legal battle between the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) and Bad Bunny’s player agency Rimas Sports continues to escalate. On Friday, August 23, the MLBPA asked a federal judge in Puerto Rico to hold Rimas Sports in contempt for defying a court order issued last week to follow union rules. The union claims Rimas has requested arbitration in the wrong venue from the wrong entity, under the wrong arbitration rules.
The MLBPA accuses Rimas Sports, of which musician Bad Bunny is an investor, of giving out cash and concert tickets to players in violation of rules. Multiple Rimas employees were sanctioned in April, with one (William Arroyo) having his certification revoked. Two others, Noah Assad and Jonathan Miranda, were forbidden from becoming certified.
But now, the MLBPA asserts Rimas has been defying that order. “Rimas Sports has already forced the MLBPA to incur substantial litigation costs to hold [Rimas] to the arbitration agreement it made. Now Rimas Sports seeks to have the MLBPA do this all over again before an arbitrator and pursuant to arbitration procedures to which the MLBPA never agreed.”
The union says Rimas went to the American Arbitration Association to request a hearing, instead of making a request through the MLBPA. Further, Rimas asked for arbitration in Puerto Rico, where the agency is based, as opposed to the agreement stipulating New York, where the MLBPA is based. The MLBPA is also asking the court to order Rimas to cover its attorney fees over the allegedly improper filing.
“Rimas Sports is following the Puerto Rico District Court’s order to arbitrate its claims against the MLBPA without waiving any appeal rights. Our opposition will be addressed in the appropriate forum,” says the agency. “Rimas Sports considers the MLBPA’s motion for sanctions to be an unfounded and frivolous attempt to delay the arbitration demand initiated by Rimas Sports and to be part of its relentless and discriminatory campaign against Rimas Sports and the Latin American players it represents. Rimas Sports will vigorously oppose said motion in due course.”
“This is the first time that the MLBPA enters a similar process against a corporate entity and an impartial arbitrator will be suitably positioned to understand the MLBPA’s self-serving and inconsistent disciplinary process, which in the case of an entity, is inconsistent with the applicable laws,” Rimas’ statement continues. “A separate process involving Rimas Sports agents and executives continues its course in arbitration.”
