Southern University Law Center hosting first-of-its-kind boot camp to push more Black students to become sports agents

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - There’s a new push to create more diversity in the sports agent industry.

The Southern University Law Center, in partnership with Diverse Representation, are hosting its inaugural Sports Agent Bootcamp. The first-of-its-kind program will take place Feb. 4-5.

Organizers say there are simply not enough Black sports agents.

“You talk about the NBA, you talk about the NFL, these are leagues dominated by Black players,” said Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Diverse Representation Jaia Thomas. “But when you look at people behind the scenes, the owners, the agents, the attorneys, they’re still dominated by white men. So, there’s still a lot of work to be done when it comes to diversifying the space behind the scenes, not just on the court or on the field.”

During the two-day immersive bootcamp, students will participate in several workshops led by an array of sports agents from across the country who will prepare attendees for careers as professional sports agents. Participants will hear from industry leaders at leading companies such as Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and Vanguard Sports Group. Some of the topics that will be covered during the bootcamp include, “Recruiting and Managing Clients”, “Representing the Peak Professional Athlete”, and “Maintaining Integrity as an Agent.”

“We will address questions like, how do you get your first client? How do you keep your client? How do you study for the exams? How do you start an agency? How do you do brand deal? We’re covering every single topic you need to know.” said Thomas.

Thomas said history was made in 2020 when more than half of the players selected in the first round of the NFL draft were represented by Black agents. She said that’s significant progress, but there’s still a lot of work to do.

Officials said this bootcamp will provide an experience you won’t get in a classroom.

“Teaching from a textbook is nice, but being able to hear from someone who has experience from someone that’s in the trenches that’s doing those duties day to day is very important , because you want to know what I can look forward to, what are the different tools that I need to make sure that I have in my arsenal so that once I graduate and once I get into the legal field and into these spaces that I know I can thrive,” said Jasmine Hunter, Director of External Affairs at the Southern University Law Center.

Aaron Henderson is an NFL and NBA agent. He said there are a lot of misconceptions and myths about the business that he plans to address at the boot camp.

“Just letting them know the realities of the business. Letting them know it’s not all the glitz and glamour that you might see on tv, social media, the movies. You know, this is a real industry that takes real skill and real knowledge to provide a difference for your clients,” said Henderson.

Students like Torrence Burnette were all ears.

Burnette is a non-traditional student, but he’s in his third year of law school after a long career in the music industry.

Burnette emphasized the importance of receiving this first-hand knowledge.

“It’s not enough to finally get a seat at table, the information allows you to build the table, to be the table, and that’s what this is all about,” said Burnette.

Agents said this should give these students a competitive advantage, but this is only the beginning of a long journey.

“It’s slow and incremental, but we still have a long way to go,” said Burnette.

If you’re interested in the Saturday session, it’s not too late to sign up. Walk-up registration is available at the Valdry Center on Southern’s campus starting at 9 a.m., Feb. 5.

For more information and to register, visit click here.

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