WME SPORTS will deactivate his basketball representation company to approach a potential conflict of interest after Endeavour’s deprived by Silver LakeAccording to familiar sources with WME plans. The new agency will keep the name Basketball WME but will be owned and operated independently of WME Sports. He will be led by the long-standing basketball agent Bill Duffy, of which BDA SPORTS has been acquired by WME in 2023.
Basketball WME will keep its current list of male and female players – notably Luka Dončić, Anthony Edwards and Sabrina Ionescu – Coaches and Front Office. Duffy will be joined by WME Sports Co-Tête and Vice-Presidency Karen Brodkin, who will oversee the strategy and operations of the basketball agency, as well as Basketball Marketing Carlos Fleming and head of basketball coaches and Bret leaders.
The executive president of the WME group, Ari Emanuel, and president and managing partner Mark Shapiro, will invest alongside Duffy in the new autonomous basketball agency. Emanuel and Shapiro invest personally.
“Ari, Bill and I are personally delighted to continue relying on the success of WME Basketball with the stellar management team of Bill, Carlos Fleming, Bret Just and Karen Brodkin who collectively built the main representation of basketball of the industry,” said Shapiro in a statement provided to SBJ.
WME will continue to represent players and retired coaches for marketing and other opportunities.
The potential conflict of interest was created by Michael Dell’s family office in the management of Michael Dell’s OBD in the WME Endeavour Group Holdings group company as part of the private transaction. Dell is also a minority investor in the San Antonio Spurs, having acquired a 10% stake in the team in 2021, and is therefore prohibited by the NBA directives to be involved in the representation of the players.
Endeavour’s private socket has raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest between WME Baseball and Diamond Baseball Holdings by Silver Lake, A roll-up of the minor leagues baseball teams (Silver Lake before ENDAAVOUR DBH acquired in 2022 to resolve a similar conflict). A source with knowledge of WME Sports plans said that the company was in active conversations with the MLBPA and in the last stages of achieving a resolution, although no final decision has yet been made. The MLBPA refused to comment.
Earlier this year, WME SPORTS agreed to sell its football representation activities to Former executive president of Endeavour Patrick WhitesellDue to a conflict with the CEO of Silver Lake Egon Durban Minority japion in the raiders of Las Vegas. This transaction is complete, confirmed a source.
WME SPORTS will continue to represent golfers, tennis players and other athletes, in addition to his advice work.
“Sports are a goal for WME,” said Shapiro. “We are deeply attached to our world class customers through tennis, golf, action sports, sporting content, broadcasting and real estate solutions, and we will remain opportunistic in space.”