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NCAA Looking At PJ Hairston’s Relationship With Basketball Agent Rodney Blackstock

Last week, The Big Lead learned that the NCAA opened an investigation into UNC-Chapel Hill guard PJ Hairston.  Specifically, an apparent relationship between Hairston and basketball agent Rodney Blackstock is under question.  The Big Lead included a GIF of Blackstock saluting Hairston at a basketball game.  Not quite sure what that proves other than the fact that the two know each other.

pj-hairston-rodney-blackstock

The Big Lead reports that Blackstock is certified by the National Basketball Players Association.  To my knowledge, he does not currently represent any active NBA players.  However, that will change once his client and former Kansas guard Ben McLemore is drafted tomorrow evening.

Blackstock’s name should be familiar, since he was the focus of a May 17, 2013 USA TODAY article concerning his relationship with Kansas guard Ben McLemore.  In the article, McLemore confirmed his relationship with Blackstock, who was involved in vetting sports agents and financial advisors for the superstar who will soon be a lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.  However, McLemore said he was unaware of any payments made by Blackstock to third parties, including McLemore’s former AAU coach in the amount of $10,000.

McLemore said the following: “He (Blackstock) helped me a lot, and you know, like I said, I’ve been through a lot so far and he been there trying to help me, you know, get through this process.”

Now the NCAA may be interested to see if Blackstock has also been assisting Hairston, and if so, whether any impermissible benefits were received by Hairston due to a relationship between the player and Blackstock.

DraftExpress.com currently projects Hairston to be a mid-first round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.