Press Release: Jay Z, Roc Nation Sports, Representing Offensive Tackle Prospect Matt James.
Good evening. I am issuing this statement on behalf of my client, offensive tackle, rights currently owned by the Philadelphia Liberty, Matt James. Due to an inability to come to an agreement on the terms of a contract my client will be holding out until a contract is penned and signed. Mr. James had adjusted the terms of his contract in an attempt to compromise to the terms of the Liberty management team, but they have not shown the same good faith.
Good afternoon. I am issuing this statement on behalf of my client, offensive guard for the Yellow Knife Wraiths, Matt James. We will begin by stating Mr. James was able to come to a quick and amenable agreement with the Wraith front office due to the respect and professionalism of Mr. Bzerkap.
My client has official signed a 3-year, $500,000 per year deal. Mr. James was offered a significantly larger deal to play for the Wraiths – a deal which was actually larger than his starting negotiation point with the Liberty – but he was declined the larger contract for two reasons.
The first, is Mr. James is thrilled at the prospect of playing for a well-run organization with a culture that focuses on teamwork and respect. The Wraiths have a history of success and Mr. James is happy to be part of their future. The second is my client’s success in the merchandising of his co-venture with Failadelphia ™, whose products are flying off of the shelves. Mr. James has now branched out from t-shirts to hats and tank tops in our original two styles.
I believe this contract and his new teammates in Yellow Knife will indicate Mr. James is not a selfish player who cares only for the money and little for team success.
Mr. James would like to end any communication with the Liberty but has granted me permission to defend my client as well as my own business one final time, until it should be needed further.
My client has already openly stated he did not have discussions with Philadelphia prior to the draft. They reached out to him and he ignored their request complete a pre-draft screening questionnaire. Mr. James was extremely busy during the pre-draft process doing private workouts and interviews with teams he was interested in playing for. I advised my client it was not necessary to reply to every piece of mail he received from a team and to focus on the teams that we were interested in and in talks with. We do possess evidence that proves the Liberty front office had an idea my client was not interested in joining the Liberty.
Statement by a member of the Philadelphia front office.
Mr. James would like to point out another team received the exact same lack of response. The team in question drafted four offensive linemen in the season 2 draft, including some of lesser talent than Mr. James before he was taken, so we believe they were capable of understanding our lack of interest. It not now clear to us Philadelphia’s front office was not capable of the same critical reasoning skills and that is our mistake for assuming competence. In the future, I will issue clear and simply worded statements to all front offices who reach out to clients that are not interested in playing for them to avoid Mr. James’ situation. I accept some of the blame here.
A statement was issued regarding Mr. James’ holdout, as is his right as a player in the National Simulation Football League. This is the first piece of media released representing my client, which in no way “demonized” any individuals or even organizations. At this state in the process my client was exercising his rights as a player. Some individuals felt Mr. James exercising his rights were unacceptable and the attacks began. Simultaneously I received word from other contacts that my client was being shopped to other teams, without any notification to Mr. James or myself. This immediately alerted us that the Liberty front office was not negotiating in good faith. This fact was confirmed by a member of the Philadelphia front office.
Statement by a member of the Philadelphia front office confirmed trade talks prior to public holdout as well as false accusations of illegally working with another team.
I would like to address a statement made by the Philadelphia front office stating they did not say my client’s salary request was unreasonable. However, the response from Philadelphia’s own “transcript” stating, and I quote “REDACTED: Sorry for the delay in response, I spit my coffee out on my phone. Had to go clean it off. A) We will not pay your player a huge salary this year.” We believe the meaning behind the mockery of spitting coffee was quite clear in regards to my client’s negotiations.
The Liberty front office has made multiple statements regarding “facts” and claiming all innocence during these negotiations. Some facts are the Liberty front office violated my client’s private contract negotiations by discussing them in detail with potential future teammates. The Liberty front office then sunk as low to as encouraging other players in the Liberty locker room to forge Roc Nations Sports documents and release them to the public to demonize my client.
Evidence of a member of the Philadelphia front office discussing falsifying documents and releasing fake media to harm my client's future in the league. Note this statement was made more than a day before the release of the article in question which can be found here.
In my years of representing athletes I have never experienced an organization encourage players to falsify documents to harm another player during negotiations. These acts typically warrant legal action above those of the NSFL. However, because the players involved were coerced by a front office that holds power over them, we will not be pursuing any charges.
I also believe a professional organization releasing transcripts of negotiations with a client is extremely unprofessional. Mr. James is a 20 year old that has worked his entire life to become a professional athlete. During negotiations “professionals” representing a billion dollar organization leaked private documents to further harm the future career of a young man. I hope other players and future prospects are taking note of how Philadelphia does business.
My client has been adamant I do not name names of parties that have been, disingenuous, to say the least, throughout the negotiation process. Mr. James nor myself, have named any names negatively in any public setting. The accusation that any person’s character and integrity have been attacked is laughable, considering the aforementioned facts. No names were named in a negative light.
My client was subject to numerous other transgressions including threats of a suspension, threats of banishment from the game, tearing down of his experience as a player, other outright lies, accusations of illegally working with other teams, and even rioting at his personal place of residence. We believe the above evidence—along with corroboration already available to the media from other general managers and players – is more than enough to verify the character and credibility of the Liberty staff in question. However, should further evidence be required my client and I have it available and are ready to furnish it.
I would also like to issue a statement on behalf of Roc Nation Sports and myself, Jay Z. I made a statement that does not reflect my client Mr. James in any way that is being used against him. In fact, the statement made was part of an advertisement that only mentioned Mr. James in the context that he was my client.
During my time working with the Liberty front office I have witnessed transgressions that show a general disregard for respecting individuals or truth. In my experience, a person who lacks respect for individuals often carry those same beliefs to all people. The connotation of the statement may have been more than I initially intended and that was a mistake. However I still stand by the sentiment that Jazzy J is unlikely to receive fair, or respectful treatment from the Liberty front office and will offer my services to her, free of charge.
In terms of various attacks on Roc Nation Sports, I do not feel there is much I need to say. I would like to point out my client’s negotiations were successful. Mr. James is officially signed to an NSFL contract and in a locker room where he feels primed to win a championship and play out his career.
Thank you.
GRADED
Good evening. I am issuing this statement on behalf of my client, offensive tackle, rights currently owned by the Philadelphia Liberty, Matt James. Due to an inability to come to an agreement on the terms of a contract my client will be holding out until a contract is penned and signed. Mr. James had adjusted the terms of his contract in an attempt to compromise to the terms of the Liberty management team, but they have not shown the same good faith.
Good afternoon. I am issuing this statement on behalf of my client, offensive guard for the Yellow Knife Wraiths, Matt James. We will begin by stating Mr. James was able to come to a quick and amenable agreement with the Wraith front office due to the respect and professionalism of Mr. Bzerkap.
My client has official signed a 3-year, $500,000 per year deal. Mr. James was offered a significantly larger deal to play for the Wraiths – a deal which was actually larger than his starting negotiation point with the Liberty – but he was declined the larger contract for two reasons.
The first, is Mr. James is thrilled at the prospect of playing for a well-run organization with a culture that focuses on teamwork and respect. The Wraiths have a history of success and Mr. James is happy to be part of their future. The second is my client’s success in the merchandising of his co-venture with Failadelphia ™, whose products are flying off of the shelves. Mr. James has now branched out from t-shirts to hats and tank tops in our original two styles.
I believe this contract and his new teammates in Yellow Knife will indicate Mr. James is not a selfish player who cares only for the money and little for team success.
Mr. James would like to end any communication with the Liberty but has granted me permission to defend my client as well as my own business one final time, until it should be needed further.
My client has already openly stated he did not have discussions with Philadelphia prior to the draft. They reached out to him and he ignored their request complete a pre-draft screening questionnaire. Mr. James was extremely busy during the pre-draft process doing private workouts and interviews with teams he was interested in playing for. I advised my client it was not necessary to reply to every piece of mail he received from a team and to focus on the teams that we were interested in and in talks with. We do possess evidence that proves the Liberty front office had an idea my client was not interested in joining the Liberty.
Statement by a member of the Philadelphia front office.
Mr. James would like to point out another team received the exact same lack of response. The team in question drafted four offensive linemen in the season 2 draft, including some of lesser talent than Mr. James before he was taken, so we believe they were capable of understanding our lack of interest. It not now clear to us Philadelphia’s front office was not capable of the same critical reasoning skills and that is our mistake for assuming competence. In the future, I will issue clear and simply worded statements to all front offices who reach out to clients that are not interested in playing for them to avoid Mr. James’ situation. I accept some of the blame here.
A statement was issued regarding Mr. James’ holdout, as is his right as a player in the National Simulation Football League. This is the first piece of media released representing my client, which in no way “demonized” any individuals or even organizations. At this state in the process my client was exercising his rights as a player. Some individuals felt Mr. James exercising his rights were unacceptable and the attacks began. Simultaneously I received word from other contacts that my client was being shopped to other teams, without any notification to Mr. James or myself. This immediately alerted us that the Liberty front office was not negotiating in good faith. This fact was confirmed by a member of the Philadelphia front office.
Statement by a member of the Philadelphia front office confirmed trade talks prior to public holdout as well as false accusations of illegally working with another team.
I would like to address a statement made by the Philadelphia front office stating they did not say my client’s salary request was unreasonable. However, the response from Philadelphia’s own “transcript” stating, and I quote “REDACTED: Sorry for the delay in response, I spit my coffee out on my phone. Had to go clean it off. A) We will not pay your player a huge salary this year.” We believe the meaning behind the mockery of spitting coffee was quite clear in regards to my client’s negotiations.
The Liberty front office has made multiple statements regarding “facts” and claiming all innocence during these negotiations. Some facts are the Liberty front office violated my client’s private contract negotiations by discussing them in detail with potential future teammates. The Liberty front office then sunk as low to as encouraging other players in the Liberty locker room to forge Roc Nations Sports documents and release them to the public to demonize my client.
Evidence of a member of the Philadelphia front office discussing falsifying documents and releasing fake media to harm my client's future in the league. Note this statement was made more than a day before the release of the article in question which can be found here.
In my years of representing athletes I have never experienced an organization encourage players to falsify documents to harm another player during negotiations. These acts typically warrant legal action above those of the NSFL. However, because the players involved were coerced by a front office that holds power over them, we will not be pursuing any charges.
I also believe a professional organization releasing transcripts of negotiations with a client is extremely unprofessional. Mr. James is a 20 year old that has worked his entire life to become a professional athlete. During negotiations “professionals” representing a billion dollar organization leaked private documents to further harm the future career of a young man. I hope other players and future prospects are taking note of how Philadelphia does business.
My client has been adamant I do not name names of parties that have been, disingenuous, to say the least, throughout the negotiation process. Mr. James nor myself, have named any names negatively in any public setting. The accusation that any person’s character and integrity have been attacked is laughable, considering the aforementioned facts. No names were named in a negative light.
My client was subject to numerous other transgressions including threats of a suspension, threats of banishment from the game, tearing down of his experience as a player, other outright lies, accusations of illegally working with other teams, and even rioting at his personal place of residence. We believe the above evidence—along with corroboration already available to the media from other general managers and players – is more than enough to verify the character and credibility of the Liberty staff in question. However, should further evidence be required my client and I have it available and are ready to furnish it.
I would also like to issue a statement on behalf of Roc Nation Sports and myself, Jay Z. I made a statement that does not reflect my client Mr. James in any way that is being used against him. In fact, the statement made was part of an advertisement that only mentioned Mr. James in the context that he was my client.
During my time working with the Liberty front office I have witnessed transgressions that show a general disregard for respecting individuals or truth. In my experience, a person who lacks respect for individuals often carry those same beliefs to all people. The connotation of the statement may have been more than I initially intended and that was a mistake. However I still stand by the sentiment that Jazzy J is unlikely to receive fair, or respectful treatment from the Liberty front office and will offer my services to her, free of charge.
In terms of various attacks on Roc Nation Sports, I do not feel there is much I need to say. I would like to point out my client’s negotiations were successful. Mr. James is officially signed to an NSFL contract and in a locker room where he feels primed to win a championship and play out his career.
Thank you.
GRADED