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LEGAL REPRESENTATION  

As a practicing attorney for 16 years, I possess the skills and expertise in contracts, advocacy, negotiation, and counseling necessary to competently perform my duty in negotiating complex legal contracts. Beyond my solid legal foundation, I understand the collective bargaining agreement, the NCAA rules, and the state agency regulations. This combination furnishes me with the skills to analyze how these rules and regulations affect the player and the player's rights allowing me to provide the best possible representation.

Further, I do more than merely negotiate athlete salaries, I assist in a variety of other areas such as protecting the athlete's rights, acting as a liaison between the team and the player, procuring product endorsement income, handling their off-the-field pursuits, helping the athlete adjust to professional and personal obstacles, keeping the athlete focused so that he can perform at his optimal level, and preparing the athlete for a second career.

In addition, since today's athlete has many specialized needs in the areas of finances, tax planning, strength and conditioning training, sports psychology, etc., I have aligned myself with various professionals in these areas. I believe the best way to serve a client is to find the best resource to address his needs. Therefore, I have developed a relationship with the following professionals as well as others so that I can serve all of the needs of the professional baseball player.

More recently, I was able to align myself with certified player agent Joe Kohm to form the Diakon Baseball Group. Joe has spent almost ten years providing multilateral services to professional athletes, currently representing over a dozen professional players. Joe and I hope our partnership will allow us to better serve all of our clients while maintaining a significant presence in the East Coast.


FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Veritas Sports Managment-Sam Begun
Veritas was created to allow the Sports Agent to have all the advantages of a larger agency but still be able to provide the one-on-one attention needed for the individual player. The Veritas Sports Management service lsit include: Player Evaluation and Preparation; Wealth Management; Accounting and Financial Services; Concierge Services; and Marketing and Public Relations.

UBS/Paine Webber - Chris George
As a former professional player, Chris pitched for seven years in the major and minor leagues with both the Florida Marlins and Milwaukee Brewers. He joined USB/Paine Webber after his retirement in 1996. He has since handled the financial and investment needs of many of Diakon's clients and is a trusted and valuable resource.


TAX PLANNING  

James Crabtree, CPA, CFP
James Crabtree has over 20 years experience in preparing tax returns, including individuals, corporations, partnerships, estate returns, and multi-state tax returns. As a Certified Financial Planner, he is well versed in providing all types of financial planning services. I have known him for over 10 years, and he is someone I can count on to provide competent services, as well as honest advice. He has prepared returns for some of the players I currently represent.  


STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING

Steven M. Horwitz, DC, CCSP, CSCS, USAW
Dr. Steven Horwitz is a certified Chiropractic Sports Physician, Strength and Conditioning Specialist and a USA Weightlifting Club Coach. He is also a certified ART® and Graston Technique practitioner. Dr. Horwitz was selected by the United States Olympic Committee as the sole chiropractor for the 1996 United States Olympic Team and has traveled internationally with U.S.A. Track and Field. In 1996, Maryland Governor Parris Glendening appointed Dr. Horwitz to the Maryland Council on Physical Fitness and from 2002 to 2004 Dr. Horwitz served as the council’s Chairman. In 2004, he was selected as the Maryland State Director for the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is a recipient of the Maryland Chiropractic Association's Outstanding Achievement Award and Washingtonian magazine has chosen him as one of the area's top sports medicine doctors. Dr. Horwitz is the author of the books YOU CAN BE FIT! and Golf Fitness Made Easy! An athlete himself, Dr. Horwitz won his height class in the 1986 AAU Collegiate Mr. America bodybuilding contest. In 2000 he won the 198lb. masters division of the 100% RAW Powerlifting meet and deadlifted over triple his bodyweight.

Dr. Horwitz evaluates each athlete individually and assesses his strengths and weaknesses. Dr. Horwitz then designs a customized strength and conditioning program based on his evaluation so that the athlete can grow and improve physically, allowing him to perform at his highest level.

To read more about Dr. Horwitz, visit his website at: www.marylandsportsinjurycenter.com



MOTIVATIONAL CONSULTANT  

Joel Freeman, Ph.D
Joel Freeman, who has served as mentor/chaplain for NBA's Washington Bullets/Wizards ('79-'98), brings a rich reservoir of personal experiences blended with contagious enthusiasm, clarity and down to earth humor to empower people from diverse walks of life with improved communication skills and maximized productivity.

As a State of Maryland Board certified professional, counselor, and behavior analyst, he specializes in equipping individuals with the tools to create proactive, motivated personal and business environments.

Joel has an impressive list of satisfied clients, ranging from the Prime Minster of Grenada and senior officials of Barbados to NASA, GE, and many pro athletes. Check out his website at freemaninstitute.com