SHANW MOSQUEDA  SCOUTING and AGENCY Code of Ethics

Preamble

The ethical obligations of a professional scout/agent are required for potential clients, current clients, college coaches, and professional teams. The recruiting industry for high school athletes has left a negative taste in the mouth of many athletes and college coaches primarily because there is little to no accountability. Many athletes and their families have lost money to “recruiters” that are just in it for the money with no guarantees. This needs to stop.

The sports agent industry has been mired by many scrupulous activities in the past, primarily because of the love of money. Both student-athletes and agents have been involved in unethical and illegal activities that have had negative consequences for the industry as a whole, as well as, colleges and professional teams. Not to mention the student-athlete. Circumstances are ripe for corrupt activity.

Ethical obligations are central to the scout/agent’s responsibility, regardless of the level in which the athlete is competing. In addition, sensitive information (e.g., money, grades, health, and behavioral information) requires special attention to prevent abuse.

Purpose of the Code of Ethics

The Shawn Mosqueda professional scout/agent has an obligation to demonstrate actions that reflect values, ethical principles, and ethical guidelines. The Shawn Mosqueda Scouting and Agency Code of Ethics (SMNSA) sets forth these values and principles to guide conduct.  (See also SMNSA Vision, Mission, Values) The code is relevant to all scout/agent professionals, regardless of their professional functions, the settings in which they work, or the athletes they serve. These purposes strengthen the SMNSA professional’s efforts to improve overall quality of representation.

The SMNSA Code of Ethics serves six purposes:

• Promotes high standards of scouting/agent practice.
• Identifies core values on which the scouting/agent mission is based.
• Summarizes broad ethical principles that reflect the profession’s core values.
• Establishes a set of ethical principles to be used to guide decision-making and actions.
• Establishes a framework for professional behavior and responsibilities when professional obligations conflict or ethical uncertainties arise.
• Provides ethical principles by which athletes can hold the scouts/agent professional accountable.

The code includes principles and guidelines that are both enforceable and aspirational. The extent to which each principle is enforceable is a matter of professional judgment to be exercised by those responsible for reviewing alleged violations of ethical principles.

The Code of Ethics and How to Interpret the Code of Ethics

Principles and Guidelines

The following ethical principles are based on the core values of the Shawn Mosqueda Scouting and Agency and apply to all agents.  Guidelines included for each ethical principle are a non-inclusive list of behaviors and situations that can help to clarify the principle. They are not meant to be a comprehensive list of all situations that can occur.

1. Competence.

A scout/agent professional shall:

1.1.  Provide competent representation, to the public and the clubs/teams/franchises in their respective sport, in the matters of personal information, contract negotiations, health information, retirement, endorsements and publicity.

1.2.  Provide competent representation, which requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness, and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.

1.3.  familiar with the negotiation process, the rules of any agreements between the league and its players, be capable of carefully and thoroughly negotiating the agreement, and be prepared to meet the needs and goals of the client and the client’s career in the negotiation process.

1.4.  Have a ties to trusted advisors for accounting, financial investing, and retirement services that the client can utilize. These need to be outside sources that will provide a check and balance system.

1.5.  be familiar with NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA rules and regulations regarding contact times, GPA’s, amateur sports vs professional sports, scholarships

1.6.  Engage in social and political action that supports the protection of scout/agent/athlete confidentiality, and be aware of the impact of the political arena on the scouting/agent issues for the respected sports industries.

1.7.  Advocate for changes in policy and legislation to ensure protection of privacy and confidentiality, compliance, and other issues that surface as advocacy issues and facilitate informed participation by clients.

1.8.  Protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of professional service. Disclose only information that is directly relevant or necessary to achieve the purpose of disclosure. Release information only with valid authorization from the client or a person legally authorized to consent on behalf of the client or as authorized by federal or state regulations.

1.9.  Promote the obligation to respect privacy by respecting confidential information shared between scout/agent, the client, while responding to requests from the legal profession, the media, or other non-sports related individuals, during press conferences and/or negotiations and in situations that could cause harm to the athlete

2. Integrity. Put service and the health and welfare of the client before self-interest and conduct oneself in the practice of the profession so as to bring honor to oneself, peers, and to the scouting/sports agent profession.

A scout/agent professional shall:

2.1. Act with integrity, behave in a trustworthy manner, elevate service to others above self-interest, and promote high standards of practice in every setting.

2.2. Be aware of the profession’s mission, values, and ethical principles, and practice in a manner consistent with them by acting honestly and responsibly.

2.3. Anticipate, clarify, and avoid any conflict of interest, to all parties concerned, when dealing with client, clubs/teams, in providing services requiring potentially conflicting roles. The conflicting roles or responsibilities must be clarified and appropriate action taken to minimize any conflict of interest.

2.4. Ensure that the working environment is consistent and encourages compliance with the SMNSA Code of Ethics, taking reasonable steps to eliminate any conditions that violate, interfere with, or discourage compliance with the code.

2.5. Take responsibility and credit, including authorship credit, only for work they actually perform or to which they contribute. Honestly acknowledge the work of and the contributions made by others verbally or written, such as in publication.

2.6. Maintain the highest degree of integrity and competence in individual negotiations with clubs/teams.

2.7. Be competent with the respect to the structure and economics of the league, and to know and understand the league constitution and bylaws, negotiating techniques, and developments in sports law.

2.8. Put the client’s health and family above everything else. Since health is a long term condition, money, fame and contracts are the least concern. No amount of money is worth a long term injury. When family relationships are strained due to athlete’s professional career, the career comes second.

2.9. Make sure the student-athlete has exhausted ALL educational options and is now required to pay out of pocket for their education before the agent can solicit a student-athlete to enter an agency contract.

A scout/agent professional shall not:

2.10. Permit one’s private conduct to interfere with the ability to fulfill one’s professional responsibilities.

2.11. Take unfair advantage of any professional relationship or exploit others to further one’s own personal, religious, political, or business interests.

2.12. Offer gifts, low interest-no interest loans, entice, promise or enter into an agency contract with any collegiate student-athlete.

2.13. be involved in improper conduct which includes acts of dishonesty, fraud and misrepresentation, and conflicts of interest.

2.14. have a financial interest in a club/team.

2.15. undertake representation of an athlete unless he/she has disclosed to the player unless he/she has disclosed to the athlete the names of management personnel that agent has previously represented.

2.16. agree to allow a client to sign a contract with a team which prohibits disclosure of the contract terms to the league/player association.

3. Solicitation of Business. How a scout/agent may or may not solicit the business of either student-athletes or professional athletes.

A scout/agent professional shall not:

3.1. solicit a student-athlete to sign an agency contract with a student-athlete who has eligibility remaining without disclosing that contract to the college or university before competition or within seventy-two hours of signing.

3.2. give any materially false or misleading information or make a materially false promise or representation.

3.3. furnish anything of value to a student-athlete before the student athlete enters into the agency contract; or

3.4. furnish anything of value to any individual other than the student-athlete or another registered athlete agent.

3.5. initiate contact with a student-athlete unless registered as an agent with state agencies

3.6. fail to notify a student-athlete before the student-athlete signs or otherwise authenticates an agency contract for a particular sport that the signing of authentication may make the student-athlete ineligible to participate as a student-athlete in that sport.

3.7. provide secret payments or gifts to the athlete, undisclosed payments or gifts to friends and relatives who may be in a position to influence the athlete, unrealistic promises and considerable arm-twisting.

4. Refusal to participate in or conceal unethical practices or procedures and report such practices.

A scout/agent professional shall:

4.1. Act in a professional and ethical manner at all times.

4.2. Take adequate measures to discourage, prevent, expose, and correct the unethical conduct of colleagues.

4.3. Be knowledgeable about established policies and procedures for handling concerns about colleagues’ unethical behavior. These include policies and procedures created by SMNSA, licensing and regulatory bodies, employers, supervisors, agencies, and other professional organizations.

4.4. Seek resolution if there is a belief that a colleague has acted unethically or if there is a belief of incompetence or impairment by discussing one’s concerns with the colleague when feasible and when such discussion is likely to be productive.

4.5. Consult with a colleague when feasible and assist the colleague in taking remedial action when there is direct knowledge of a health information management colleague’s incompetence or impairment.

4.6. Take action through appropriate formal channels, such as contacting an accreditation or regulatory.

4.7. Cooperate with lawful authorities as appropriate.

5. Represent the profession to the public in a positive manner.

A scout/agent professional shall:

5.1. Be an advocate for the profession in all settings and participate in activities that promote and explain the mission, values, and principles of the profession to the public.

6. State truthfully and accurately one’s credentials, professional education, and experiences.

A scout/agent professional shall:

6.1. Make clear distinctions between statements made and actions engaged in as a private individual and as a representative of the scouting/sports agent profession.

6.2. Claim and ensure that representation to potential clients, clients, agencies, clubs/teams and the public of professional qualifications, credentials, education, competence, affiliations, services provided, training, certifications, and other relevant professional experience are accurate.

6.3. Claim only those relevant professional credentials actually possessed and correct any inaccuracies occurring regarding credentials.

6.4. Report only those continuing education units actually earned for the recertification cycle and correct any inaccuracies occurring regarding CEUs.

7. Respect the inherent dignity and worth of every person.

A scout/agent professional shall:

7.1. Treat each person in a respectful fashion, being mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity.

7.2. Promote the value of self-determination for each individual.

7.3. Value all kinds and classes of people equitably, deal effectively with all races, cultures, disabilities, ages and genders.

7.4. Ensure all voices are listened to and respected.

The Use of the Code

Violation of principles in this code does not automatically imply legal liability or violation of the law. Such determination can only be made in the context of legal and judicial proceedings. Alleged violations of the code would be subject to a peer review process. Such processes are generally separate from legal or administrative procedures and insulated from legal review or proceedings to allow the profession to counsel and discipline its own members although in some situations, violations of the code would constitute unlawful conduct subject to legal process.

Guidelines for ethical and unethical behavior are provided in this code. The terms “shall and shall not” are used as a basis for setting high standards for behavior. This does not imply that everyone “shall or shall not” do everything that is listed. This concept is true for the entire code. If someone does the stated activities, ethical behavior is the standard. The guidelines are not a comprehensive list.

A code of ethics cannot guarantee ethical behavior. Moreover, a code of ethics cannot resolve all ethical issues or disputes or capture the richness and complexity involved in striving to make responsible choices within a moral community. Rather, a code of ethics sets forth values and ethical principles, and offers ethical guidelines to which a scout/agent professionals can aspire and by which actions can be judged. Ethical behaviors result from a personal commitment to engage in ethical practices.

The code does not provide a set of rules that prescribe how to act in all situations. Specific applications of the code must take into account the context in which it is being considered and the possibility of conflicts among the code’s values, principles, and guidelines. Ethical responsibilities flow from all human relationships, from the personal and familial to the social and professional. Further, the SMNSA Code of Ethics does not specify which values, principles, and guidelines are the most important and ought to outweigh others in instances when they conflict.