http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1051954339241372.xml Cleveland firm's lawsuit says agent misled NBA star 05/03/03 John Caniglia Plain Dealer Reporter An agent's wooing of pro-basketball sensation Yao Ming has bounced into a Cleveland courtroom amid allegations of defamation. Evergreen Sports Inc., a Shaker Heights management firm, says California agent Bill Duffy interfered in a deal that would have allowed Evergreen to represent Yao. The 7-foot-6-inch Yao, the first pick of last year's NBA draft, averaged 14 points and 8 rebounds a game for the Houston Rockets. He was runner-up in the league's rookie-of-the-year award and has become a hot advertising property, eagerly sought for television commercials and endorsement deals. Evergreen insists in a suit filed in U.S. District Court late Thursday that Duffy, of Walnut Creek, Calif., misled Yao about Evergreen in 1999 in order to woo the player. The suit came out the same day Sports Illustrated gushed that Duffy was "the hottest rep in basketball." The suit paints Duffy differently. It says Evergreen officials approached the Shanghai Sharks about Yao's future in the NBA in 1998. In order for Yao to be released from his contract with the team, Evergreen had to obtain approvals from various Chinese officials and agencies. In October 1998, Evergreen officials met with Li Yao Min, the general manager of the Sharks. The team and Evergreen brokered a contract that allowed Yao to be released from the team. It also gave Evergreen exclusive rights to represent Yao and manage his NBA career for its duration. Six months later, Evergreen officials went to China, meeting with Yao and his parents. Yao signed a management agreement with Evergreen for his NBA career, and Yao was prepared to enter the 1999 NBA draft. The Plain Dealer has reported that the contract called for Evergreen to take 33 percent of Yao's earnings. But Evergreen was to pay most of that cut to the Sharks and the Chinese government in exchange for permission to represent the player. In the end, Evergreen would have kept about 1 percent, according to published reports. Most agents charge about 4 percent, though it's negotiable and agents can get a bigger cut of endorsement deals. In the meantime, Duffy interfered with the contract by making "defamatory and slanderous statements" about Evergreen, as well as false statements about the contract, according to the suit. Yao and the Sharks then broke their contract with Evergreen, according to the suit. Yao stayed in China two more years and later joined up with Duffy. Duffy could not be reached. His attorney, Jerry Hall, declined to comment, saying he had not seen the case. Evergreen's attorney, Peter Poulos, also declined to comment. The company was set up to represent basketball players abroad, particularly Yao and Michael Ri, a 7-foot-9 North Korean. Michael Coyne, the former owner of Evergreen and an attorney, represents Maybyner "Nene" Hilario of the Denver Nuggets. Plain Dealer reporter Susan Vinella contributed to this story. To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jcaniglia@plaind.com, 216-999-4128
